Wall street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Ok so I finally checked out WS II, ironically having waited for it to reach a rock-bottom price of $1.25 at a pretty damn decent dollar cinema. I hope this a harbinger of my ability to pick out stock/option winners for the future, because I definitely got a good return on my money.

I thought the story line reflected recent events pretty accurately, all the while reflecting the impact and consequences of human nature on the events. Greed, ambition, hopelessness, survival, idealism, reflection, failure, and the general ups and downs of life were strong themes that come to mind. Though some may have dismissed some of the story lines as too basic or romantic, I found them compelling in that they incorporated subtleties that many may not have picked up in their entirety. In the end, one observes that the winners and losers are constantly changing hands, with those ultimately defining their success in non-monetary terms emerging victorious.

I've always believed that the best way to evaluate your own worth is to first strip away medallions or labels that one has received from society or lineage. Take away that trust fund, those awards, that nationality, or even those physical attributes. What you're left with is your fundamental qualities, perceptions,character, and your potential. This is to be done at every point in life so as to not get twisted to the point of being clueless to reality one day. For example, your definition of fashion, purely derived by following current trends, will be outdated one way. So will your popularity, praise from others, job status, closeness to kids, etc etc....unless based on fundamentally sound qualities. For example, if your popularity is derived not purely on say sheer athletic ability but rather work ethic that led to athletic success, you will find renewed popularity later based on something else once athletic ability fades. If you are close to your kids not only because of their vulnerable dependence on you but also because of an innate respect for them as individuals, the bond may last well beyond pre-adolescence.

So what does this have to do with Wall Street 2? Well, you come out of the movie with the feeling that success and failure in the tangible sense is often a crap shoot, but that you can hedge all of that by simply striving to lead a quality life and developing attributes that are immune to your job and financial success. It's fine to play the game, so long as your answer to the question "how much would it take to walk away?" is not relegated to a vacant "...more."