Try this quick quiz: If your child could only be one of the following, which would you choose: (a) Rich(b) Smart (c) Happy (d) Good Many of you may have seen this classic question — it’s really more thought experiment than quiz — but if you haven’t, take a moment and reflect.
You’ve met someone interesting. You’ve worked up the courage to invite them out for a proper, grown-up dinner date. Now you face the hardest part of the entire process: selecting the right restaurant. No pressure, but a bad choice here could make the odds of a continued conversation with the object of your affection a lot longer (we actually believe that if it’s meant to be, one bad date is not going to wreck you, but why roll the dice on that? You could laugh about it later, or just get it right the first time.)
The wealthy acquire second homes, fancy cars, museum-quality art, and this season’s clothing and accessories. They hire assistants, house managers, gardeners, maids, drivers, nannies, and tutors – all in an effort to ensure they’ll have time to enjoy these possessions, and time to spend with loved ones. For even when money is no object, time remains elusive. In today’s frenetic, fast-paced world, time is the ultimate luxury.
Where should you take the object of your affection on your first date? This is a vexing question that has been wrestled with for centuries.
I’m standing in front of the windows at Bergdorf’s and I’m transported. I do this every time I can when in New York. Inside, I have a lively exchange with a salesperson about the price of the most fantastic silk brocade coat I’ve ever seen (let’s be fair, no names). I look around and notice a woman angrily snatching at a dress on the rack, frowning and comparing it rather unfavorably to her great grandmother’s couture dress. Another is checking for size 0s and exuding body anxiety. A third woman with an edgy sequin T-shirt, sky blue hair, and a “strictly business” arrogance is clearly shopping as her boss’s surrogate abusive consumer. What is their problem? The whole place is GORGEOUS! Can’t say it isn’t luxurious. So why aren’t more customers and salespeople having a yumilicious time?
