“And what makes someone the best? I don’t mean how do you determine who did the best—obviously that’s a numerical test. But what qualities does it take to become the best broker?”
Merrick nodded. “That’s a good question. Being intelligent is a given. Most of the traders on the floor went to Ivy League schools and graduated at the top of their class. What sets the best apart? I’d say nerves of steel. You have to be able to tune out the noise around you and stay the course some days, and other days you have to take a risk that could lose you everything. You ever hear the saying, ‘You use the same boiling water to harden an egg that you do to soften a potato’?” He tapped his fingers to his chest. “It’s about what’s inside, not the circumstances you’re in.”
I smiled. “I know you weren’t in f
