City of Angels

I have been in Los Angeles for the FINRA Small Firm Conference in Santa Monica. Since we are in the business of securities, we have to be sure to be compliant with FINRA and it was a good chance to get updates from the agency and network with folks from other firms.

I reluctantly flew down on Wednesday morning. I’ve had a few long weeks and weekends, and I really didn’t want to go through the hassle of another short 2 day trip while getting behind on my work.

As I write this at the airport on Thursday afternoon, I’m really glad I made the trip. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and heading to LA, getting my mind (mostly) off of work was exactly what the doctor ordered.

The networking event at the Bungalow was great as I met some great people and the nigiri sushi bar was on point. Afterwards, I had some old friends come meet me at the Bungalow and we went to a sports bar to watch basketball and catch up.

On Thursday, I left the conference early as the afternoon sessions were not applicable to our line of business and decided to take some personal time.

I grabbed lunch with another old friend from high school, and then spent a couple hours as a tourist walking around the Santa Monica boardwalk and promenade with my email shut off.

I find it funny that a FINRA conference being the cure for my recent rut, but catching up with old friends and enjoying the sun was exactly what I needed.

It’s a gentle reminder that everything in life is a mindset, and I need to always attack things with a positive mindset.