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PERSONALITY: Are you satisfied with your family life? Religious life? Sex life? Financial life? Are you driven to make a lot of money? Are you hardworking? A multitasker? Grateful? Confident? Happy? Optimistic? Stubborn? Creative? Street smart? Outgoing? Competitive? A leader? Ambitious? Popular? A risk taker? Do you have the ability to overcome a bad situation? Are you passionate about your work? Do you finish what you start? Can you easily read other people? Do you feel it is okay to break some rules? Have you compromised your personal principles to succeed professionally?  

NONFINANCIAL BEHAVIORS: How many times have you changed occupations as an adult? Do you work more than others? From home? On vacation? How often do you vote? How much television do you watch? How much time do you spend online? How often do you exercise? How often do you read books? Newspapers? Do you participate in extreme sports? Or meditate? How much sleep do you need? How often do you socialize and with whom—friends, family, neighbors, colleagues? People you enjoy? People who could advance your career? Have you made personal sacrifices to climb the ladder of success? Do you give back to your community? Often? As often as you can? 

It was a huge undertaking. And that was not all. We asked about political affiliation, left and right handedness, birth order, and whether participants were the children of parents who read to them at night. If we had an inkling that something might be important, we tried to find some way to add it to the soup. And as you'd expect, some of the issues raised by these questions turned out to matter a lot, others not so much, some not at all. 

We got the results back in early 2008. But anyone who has ever conducted a large-scale survey knows that the initial data run was just the beginning. For the next half year, the data was processed, cut, interpreted, and reinterpreted. I continued to ask questions. Harris continued to look for the answers. Along the way, David Robinson, associate professor of finance at Duke University—an expert in the field of behavioral finance—volunteered to weigh in. He was insightful and tireless, and with his help, the story in the data revealed itself even more.   

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