It’s easy to say you care about your spouse and children, but words are empty compared to actions. Earlier this year, a California multimillionaire was forced to decide what was most important to him in life.
Mohamed El-Erian was CEO of a $2-trillion investment firm called PIMCO. He’s a very successful and hard-driving businessman who has made a lot of money. In 2011 alone, his income was $200 million. But he shocked the financial world in January when he quit his job — not to jump to a rival firm, but to spend time with his wife and daughter.
We can all learn something from his choice.
El-Erian was forced to decide what was most important to him — his family or his income — because his daughter challenged him. Writing for Worth magazine in May, El-Erian explained his crisis of values.
He said he asked his daughter to do something — which he recalls as brushing her teeth — and the two ended up arguing about her lack of compliance. He reminded her that she had always been quick to obey him, but she asked him to wait a minute, then she disappeared briefly to get a piece of paper from her room.

If you live by your principles, others won’t control your actions
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Loss of respect for truth leads to remorseless liar’s excuses
Why does most love hurt us? Because one usually loves more
Was I ‘fat’? ‘Lazy’? My father’s ugly words made me feel shame
If you’re sure what’s important, everything else seems trivial
When did someone decide we have the legal right not to be offended?
In cold and dehumanized culture, many yearn to feel human again