Triple Threat, Photo Credit: Jonathan Chimko, Dreamstime.com
Destined to be just another clock-punching laborer as were my father and his, I clawed my way into a different reality. Shunning their day to day tedium; I refused to live a life, the monotony of which was soothed only by a beer or something stronger on Friday nights.
Odd for someone from the Midwest, swimming was my passion. I craved the solitude and peace attained from immersion in the water. The pool kept me sane; kept me believing that I had a chance to propel my way through life just as I propelled myself through the water to the finish line. The double advantage of my athletic and academic prowess got me into the Ivy League. I didn’t look back.
At Yale, I got my first taste of power. I learned that it was power that had gotten me to the Ivy League in the first place – the unbeatable combination of brains and brawn. I used it to my advantage. It didn’t hurt that I am reasonably good-looking. Girls especially liked my green eyes.
I later found out that those who feared me, referred to me as the Green-Eyed Monster. My friends called me Trip. Not because of the Roman numeral three behind my name (yes – the lower classes pass their names along too), but because I was a Triple-Threat. A terror in the classroom, a terror in the pool, and a terror in bed.
My wife has no illusions. We both know that she married me because of where I could take her. An amicable arrangement. She gets what she wants; I do as I choose. What I choose is to accumulate power – and to wield it.
I’m a heartbeat away from the most powerful seat in our industry – and it too is merely a stepping stone to the power beyond. I deserve to be at the top. I’ve been dealt the best hand. It may look as though I’m risking it all, but instead, I stand to gain it all. I’m the one with the brains, the intimidation factor and the nerve.
Triple-threat. Unbeatable.
