My story begins like all great stories do and that is with Sir Richard Branson.

I was staying at his private chalet in the Swiss Alps in a small town called Verbié.

And this place comes complete with an ice rink, spa, indoor pool,

and an outdoor jacuzzi.

And I was there with 40 of my clients and colleagues

celebrating a great year in the banking industry. We were all from the City of London Financial

Center and we were sitting back having our apresky sk drinks after having a long day on the slopes and the fireplace was roaring and the jacuzzi was steaming and you can feel the buzz of the evening as we were trying to figure out what restaurant to go to, what club

to hit afterwards.

And I realized that I finally had everything I had been working my entire life for,

what my parents had wanted, what my university had promised me,

and what I knew would finally make me happy.

And that, quite frankly, was money and a successful career.

And I went to pour myself a glass of champagne and I got a text from a buddy in London and he said,

how's the ski?

And so I looked around at all these people and out through the window and I remember the

pine trees and the snow coming down right around sunset and I paused and I wrote back

I've never been surrounded by so many people and felt so alone.

And three months later I walked into the office of my managing director and I resigned from my position of 10 years

I didn't want to do that work anymore and I had no job, no prospects, and was absolutely terrified about what would come next.

Little did I know that three years later I would be one degree of separation from the most powerful man in the world.

Now I'm not sure if you know this gentleman, but his name is Neil degrass Tyson. He is an

astrophysicist you might know him as the host of the show Cosmos and right here I had just finished a one-on-one interview with him. We

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