Another instrumental part of growing up was my involvement in sports. I grew up playing tennis, basketball, and softball. I also ran track. I think part of it was my parents didn't want me to get into trouble but whatever the motive, it worked. Because I was competitive at everything, I wanted to win every single time. Only later in life at my first Wall Street interview would I realize how important it is to be strong, to want to win, to want to succeed. A competitive edge When I landed a job on Wall Street, it was after a strange interview with the manager of Dean Witter Reynolds. The first question he asked me was what activities I liked to do. I told him I enjoyed running.