Tenet: In-Movie Quotes That Got Me Thinking About Money

1. Dressing the Part of a Billionaire Does NOT Mean Brands

_Michael Crosby:__ Look, no offense. But in this world where someone is claiming to be a billionaire, Brooks Brothers won’t cut it.

The Protagonist: I’m assuming I’m on a budget.

Michael Crosby: Save the world, then we’ll balance the books. Can I recommend a tailor?

he gives the protagonist a credit card_

Absolutely loved the dry humour from Michael Caine’s character in this movie.

But anyway.

Brooks Brothers, headquarted in Manhattan, is the oldest retail brand and clothier in the United States. Their suits go from $2000.

So clearly, he’s not even talking about G2000 level here. But it is true – I learnt from an early age that the most obvious sign of refined personal style is certainly NOT brands, but well-tailored clothes.

Now, I am by no means an expert in fashion. In fact, I hate shopping and buying clothes. I am usually living in my old house tee shirt and shorts if I didn’t need to look socially acceptable. Now with that said – in my humble opinion, class, style and elegance rate higher in my books than bling and brands.

This is what I observed amongst my peers in school – classmates who had parents above upper middle class (usually District 9 address) did not necessarily wear clothes that were screaming brands, but it was always very tailored and elevated.

For me, my personal take is that I’d rather work on accumulating wealth, than spend money trying to look rich. For that reason, I decided from my very first pay check that I would NEVER buy a Chanel bag unless it was 0.1% of my liquid cash. Fast forward til now when I can well afford a nice bag, I just cannot justify buying an expensive bag for myself. Again, that is just me, and power to the people who appreciate Chanel bags.

2. Exchanging Money for Time

_Andrei Sator:__ I made a bargain with the devil. Money for time. We sold our future.

The Protagonist: And now you’re about to make the same mistake, for the entire world._

Now, most of us are familiar with the concept of exchanging money for time.

Anyone working for a monthly salary is clearly doing this.

The Time-Money-Energy conundrum is also a concept that we need to grapple with throughout our lives, because that balance changes based on life stages:

Everyone has a different situation, but I would argue that we should not wait until old age to value time. We are our own choices. Choose wisely.

3. Using Money to Get into Certain Networks – The Value of Network

Michael Crosby:__ Two weeks ago, same date as The Kyiv Opera siege, we spotted a detonation in Northern Siberia. Just where Stalsk 12 was. Sato emerged from this black spot on the map, with ambition, and enough money to buy his way into the British establishment.

And it is true that knowing the right people and right networks is extremely advantageous in business. Quality of network is extremely criticial, especially when it comes to business opportunities, management talent, and proprietary information necessary for consistent industry success.

It is possible to use a ridiculous amount of money to buy your way into certain networks. But it is not the only way.

I personally believe that a person’s ability to build a network of authentic personal and professional relationships, not your financial capital, is the most important asset. It likely will be the most rewarding in the long run as well.

Don’t look to build shallow relationships, especially in professional relationships. Look to build those where people value you for you, and not your designation on your namecard.

There would be many people who might flock to you when they see you are wealthy, for whatever reasons. But the ones that stick with you in bad times, those are the ones that you need to value. This principle applies to both business and personal relationships.

Food for thought!