We recently connected with Degas Wright and have shared our conversation below.
Degas, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I define resilience as the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. I was able to learn resilience early during my college experience at the United States Military Academy at West Point. I often share that one of my most challenging courses was freshman foreign language Spanish course. I have a speech impediment and it is difficult for me to phonetically sound words out and this was my first foreign language course. I quickly realized that I would either overcome the speech impediment and learn how to communicate in a foreign language or fail the course and be kicked out of West Point. I chose to spend my evenings at the foreign language lab memorizing the Spanish words. I made such a turn around that the Spanish instructor gave me the following note.
From being one of the weakest students in basic Spanish, Cadet Wright has made remarkable progress. I attribute this to study and a willingness to work. I wish I had more students with his desire.
So, I learned that the willingness to stick to a task makes all of the difference, no matter what you have to overcome!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Professionally, I am an investment advisor and I have the privilege of working with outstanding individuals, families, and institutions. We founded Decatur Capital Management to serve our clients in obtaining their financial goals, be that providing a pension for a retiree, providing community services, or living the life that they dreamed about! I get to work with a talented team that is committed to being good stewards for our clients’ financial assets. Through our service in the community, we developed a college intern program that has exposed over one hundred students to the investment industry.
We are excited about our ability to customize investment solutions for families and institutions. For example, we customize investment portfolios for foundations and pension plans that are in alignment with their mission to benefit the stakeholders. We serve entrepreneurs by identifying the financial goals for their firm and family. One of the most common questions that we get is how much money do I need to retire? We work with our clients to identify that ‘number’ and how to achieve it!
Recently, I have added being a visual artist. Most people are surprised that I create artwork. I guess because most people may feel that creating art and being good at math do not go together. I have been able to create art since a toddler, my earliest memories are drawing with crayons. My parents encouraged my early attempts at art by being my first models!
Fast forward, when we became empty nest parents, I had more time and my wife, Pat, encouraged me to take art lessons. I followed her advice and have worked with two great instructors James Taylor and Sylvia Cross. As I progressed, Sylvia encouraged me to share my art with a wider audience. So, I launched my art website and that has been an exciting experience. My adult children, Leland and Cydne, have assisted me with the social media and marketing the website!
I believe that Art is the bridge to the Soul! Many times, my art community members share with me how a particular artwork touches their soul and reminds them of a special event or person. Those stories are my inspiration to continue to create!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three most impactful qualities during my entrepreneurship journey has been family and friends that believe in you, humility, and allowing yourself to fail.
I could not have launched the firm, Decatur Capital Management, or pursue my art career without the support and encouragement of my wife, Pat. As I mentioned she encouraged me to take art lessons because she knew I wanted to improve my creativity. Also, we talked about the possibility of starting an investment management firm, she encouraged me to take the risk and start the firm! She believed in me and that made all of the difference.
Humility is the ability to recognize our limitations and avoiding excessive pride or arrogance. I learned this quality early in my entrepreneurial journey.
I noticed that when I was a corporate treasurer and was responsible for millions of dollars, all of the consultants returned my calls; but when I launched my firm and I was looking for opportunities, some of the consultants failed to return my calls. It was humbling to be reminded that my earlier position of being treasurer was the reason for the quick call backs and not to become arrogant. Later when we achieved a level of success, I recalled how important it was for me when people would return my calls, so I am trying to remain accessible and offer encouragement to others.
Lastly, the entrepreneurial journey is filled with potholes and dead end streets! You have to give yourself the grace to fail because you will at times turn down a particular path and realize that it is a dead end. You will need to turn around and look for another path. For example, several years ago, our firm launched a new investment product and we believed that there would be a demand for this product. We invested our capital and time into the product launch and ongoing operations. The demand never materialized nor did we gain any clients for the product. After four years, we closed the product and pivoted in a new direction with the skills that we had learned from the experience. That product failed to generate client demand, but our team learned some valuable lessons!
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The Bible, has played an important role in my development since childhood and as an adult. For example, when I left home for college at West Point, I realized that my faith would be crucial for my success. I taped a 3X5 card to my desk with the following scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
Whenever, I was tempted to quit because of the difficulties that I faced at West Point, I would repeat that verse. I kept that verse taped to my desk all four years to graduation!
Today, I keep a small daily journal of my notes. On the first page of these journals, I write down another scripture.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight.
As I experience life, there are many things that happen to me, my family and friends that I do not understand. I have experienced events that bring me great sorrow and tears, but I am reminded of this scripture and I pause for a moment. I ask myself, whose understanding am I leaning on?
I still struggle with the word submit. But, I know that submitting or yielding, after i have put forth my best effort results in peace of mind. So, I have to remind myself to let it go and stop worrying.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/degaswrightart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/degas.wright
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/degas-wright-cfa-a801992/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/degaswright
- Other: https://decaturcapital.com/
