How the Book 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' Changed My Business Lessons from this French novel keep me grounded and focused when times feel uncertain.

Seven years ago, I was in a dark place. I had left my job in trading — a career I'd spent all of college preparing for — and I was trying to figure out what the rest of my life would look like. I was so depressed that some days I could barely get out of bed.

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One thing that brought me joy was my rescue dog, Zeus. He not only served as a comfort during this time but also inadvertently brought me to the book that changed my life. It happened one day when I was at BookCourt, a beloved, since-closed bookstore in Brooklyn. As I stood waiting to check out, Zeus began licking the cover of a book on a nearby shelf. A store employee saw and reprimanded me, so I felt it was only right to buy this "damaged" book instead of the one I had chosen.