Huffington Post

Madoff’s Lesson For Us My  friends, Matt and Geneen, lost all their retirement savings in the  Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Instead of being victims, they have used the experience in very constructive ways for themselves. I am not talking out of school here, because they have each publicized their plight  in their own ways: together as a couple on the Today show, author Geneen in an article in the Huffington Post (What I Gained By Losing in Madoff) and  award-winning inspirational speaker Matt  in Youtube (What Bernie Madoff Couldn’t Steal From Me) . One of the  common ingredients in their stories is their willingness to take responsibility – not only for what happened- but ongoingly. As Matt says, Bernie Madoff stole money from them, but it was up to them to ensure that he didn’t steal the rest of their lives.  Too often we stay locked in the past and try and change it. We obsess about how it should have been, or how it could have been if…..Those who are focusing on Bernie Madoff and what should have happened to him (nothing you can do to him will bring back your wealth), or, trying to find out where the money is (wake-up, it’s GONE), or how the government should pay them back because it was the SEC who messed up (Hey, where’s my bailout!) are staying in the past, are ultimately not taking responsibility for their lives. There is a new paradigm shift, and that shift requires each of us to [...]