Saturday night, January 10, 2015
What would you do if you suddenly inherited a million dollars?
It is an important question, it reveals a great deal about us.
I was much younger. I was in the financial field seeking a better job. An innovative investment company in Tel Aviv had shown an interest in me, as well as in a friend of mine.
My first interview took place at their offices in Tel Aviv, I recall it well. I was quite impressed, I imagined working there. This was long before IKI was born.
The next meeting their representative drove to Jerusalem and met me in a nice hotel for brunch. I was feeling good. They said I was exactly the kind of person there were looking for. With a background in American and Israeli finance, fluent in English and Hebrew, easy going, I was a great candidate.
And then came the interview with the psychologist.
I was asked without warning, "What would you do tomorrow morning if you found out you just inherited a million dollars?"
Without thinking I said, "I would quick my job. I would spend the morning studying the holy books and in the afternoon I would teach martial arts and do volunteer work helping the needy."
I did not get the job.
My friend, however, did get the job.
What was her answer.
"A million dollars! that is nothing!
I would take the million and invest it wisely and I would turn it into several million."
This friend got the job. She did not last long as eventually they found someone better. No job security or loyalty.
These days I think back at that interview.
I think back because I know when I write my blogs and urge people to come to Israel and train with me in Krav Maga it might sound purely like a commercial. But is it all about the money??
No, if it were all about the money I would not be where I am today. If it were all about the money I would have given a different answer, as a young man, so many years ago and my life would have taken a different turn.
If it were all about the money there are many jobs that I would have taken years ago, but they conflicted with my Krav Maga training, so I turned them down.
It is about heart, passion, and concern.
When I hear of a rape, I write a blog.
When I hear of a murder, I write a blog.
When I hear of a terrorist attack, I write a blog.
After the Har Nof Massacre I wrote a blog, More of the Same Krav Maga.
Some critic on Facebook wrote, "How cynical to use this horrible murder as a way to drum up business"
I was stunned.
Those who know me know that it is all about heart. No student has ever been turned away for lack of money.
I look at the world, the horrible state it is in, and I ask, what can I do? What can Moshe Katz do?
In the end we shall all meet our maker and He will ask us, "What did you do to make this world a better place?