The current financial state of the laid off workers depends on their skills, age and degree of determination.

NPR: Workers Face a Cold World After Carrier

The brash, opinionated Koch, who led the city in the late 1970s and '80s with a combination of determination, chutzpah and humor, died Friday of congestive heart failure at age 88.

WSJ: Legendary NYC mayor Koch dies; Monday funeral set

It was a quiet determination throughout my twenties that finally got me to INSEAD and the hills of Fontainebleau, age 29.

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