Dress English, Think Yiddish!

“Dress English, think Yiddish“. I heard this advice during an interview with Dan Peña, a proud, non-politically correct millionaire and business coach known as “The 50 Billion Dollar Man”.

Well, the slogan stuck with me. Besides the reference to the English formal dress code, I was intrigued mainly by his reference to the “Yiddish thinking”,  part of that Jewish wisdom that seems to provide an edge on business and money matters – as discussed in my article on the Money Code.  He commented on such thinking as “canny, shrewd, real“. Dan Peña received such advice decades ago from Constantine Gratsos: 

“he had made his fortune as a lifelong associate of shipping icon Aristotle Onassis. He took a liking to me, became my first mentor, and showed me how to swim in the deep, dangerous waters of business”.

LIVE QUOTE ON YOUTUBE: DRESS ENGLISH, THINK YIDDISH

You can watch the extract of his Youtube interview where he lively quotes and comments on the expression dress English, think Yiddish. 

I admit that such a reference to canny Yiddish thinking intrigued me and gave me more historical reading opportunities. A quick search online immediately clarified that Yiddish is a language used by Jews in central and eastern Europe before the Holocaust. It was originally a German dialect with words from Hebrew (the official Jewish language) and several modern languages. It is now used only by a minority of Jews.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS ON JEWISH WISDOM

Looking for some books, I came across one written by Howard Ward Charles: “The Money Code: Become a Millionaire With the Ancient Jewish Code“. H. W. Charles studied Biblical Studies and received several academic awards. The title sounded a bit like “pop culture” for my taste, but I tried it. You can read my review in this article: “The Money Code” by H.W. Charles.

I also read Rabbie Daniel Lapin’s book: “Business Secrets from the Bible“. This second book was a dive with new eyes into the Holy book and further sparked my interest in ancient money management wisdom in ancient books. 

My take on Dan Peña? Dress as it suits you, but make sure to Sweat Your Assets.

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

–  The Parable Of The Talents.

–  Dress British, Think Yiddish, by Eitan Kensy (Jewish Review of Books)

– Dress British, Think Yiddish. How Jews Came to Yale in Ivy League Cloting, by Daniel Horowitz