Author Profile: David Richman
After working in a variety of industries–including launching two start-ups–David Richman entered the financial industry as an advisor at a major Wall Street firm. Several years in, he found that his interests were more in managing people and businesses than in managing money. Over the next 15 years, he managed ever-larger businesses for the same Wall Street firm. His most recent position was as a Complex Director where he was responsible for a P&L that topped $100MM in revenues and $20MM in profits.
Wanting to return to his entrepreneurial roots, he has since partnered on launching an independent/hybrid financial advisory firm with other leading industry veterans. In under two years, the firm annualizes over $10MM in revenues on over $1B in assets under management in several locations.
Over the last 10 years, David has completed over 50 triathlons, including 13 Ironman-distance triathlons (2.4-mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), more than 50 runs longer than marathon distance, including several 24-hour runs, running 85 miles in Mexico in the heat of the summer, and most recently, running 104 miles straight from Santa Barbara to Manhattan Beach.
As a former sedentary, over-weight, smoker, David knew that he needed to focus not on what others wanted out of him, but on what he wanted out of life. Through lessons learned in business and sport, David introduces the concept of the “middle of the pack” and discusses how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined.
David was born in Miami and has since been a Southern California resident (save a crazy five years in Las Vegas in his late teens). He has worked in real estate, lending, construction, started both an animation company and a skin care company, and then went into financial services, eventually working at a major Wall St. firm for 17 years. He has teen twins who are as aspirational as their father. After losing his sister to brain cancer, David has organized a yearly fundraiser for the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the most recent being a 280-mile bike ride to Vegas.
WINNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK SYNOPSIS
By the time he was in his late 30’s, David was a sedentary, over-weight smoker who was stuck in an abusive and unhealthy marriage. It was clear that if he was going to enjoy any kind of satisfaction in life, he had to stop focusing on what others wanted out him, and zero in on what he wanted for himself.
He began to set measurable, attainable and meaningful goals – to become healthy, to raise his young twins in a safe home environment, to become a top performer at work and to seek out his own physical, mental and emotional limits.
Through lessons learned in business, sport and life, David introduces the concept of “winning in middle of the pack” and discusses how we all can get more out of ourselves than we ever imagined.
AUTHOR STATEMENT
Writing my book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack: Realizing True Success in Business and in Life, has benefitted me in several different ways.
From a business perspective, as a coach, motivational speaker, consultant and transformational leader, having a tangible, comprehensive, and representative offering has enhanced my credibility and clarified the intent of my various messages. I’ve found that people who read the book identify with the stories and utilize the underlying principles long after hearing me talk about them. As a result, this has opened many doors and initiated new, diverse sources of dialogue.
From a personal perspective, setting out to finish my first book was something that I had postponed for so many years, I was beginning to think that I would never have the wherewithal and fortitude to make it a reality. I had carried visions of literary accomplishment around for so long, they were at the point of becoming unrealizable dreams rather than reachable aspirations. To hold a book I actually finished writing – one that I could hold in my hands and proudly offer to other people – satisfied me on many different levels. A particularly beneficial factor in this process was that I applied many of the principles discussed in the book to the process of actually writing it – much like I’ve done countless times in business and endurance sport.
Importantly, on an emotional level, writing this book has been a wonderful healing and cleansing experience. In the book, I told bits and pieces of very personal and difficult circumstances in my life; dealing with a unfortunate childhood and early adulthood, escaping an abusive spouse, watching my sister struggle through terminal cancer, living an unhealthy life, and more. It took many years to turn my life around, and each of the many charitable and athletic endeavors I’ve done over the years since has helped soothe some of the inner-fraction caused by these life experiences. Having a book that I know helps people relate to their own difficult circumstances has been invaluable to my own journey.
