Welcome to Firefly Moments

Hi, I’m Stephen Robinson.

Throughout my career I have had great fortune. I have been chosen for plum assignments and career making jobs when there were other equally deserving candidates. For that reason, I have been called an “opportunity magnet.” On this website I will share the “aha” moments: the attitudes, habits and approaches that have helped me flourish.

Stephen Robinson

Former: Federal Judge (SDNY) US Attorney (CT) Deputy General Counsel, FBI Partner, Skadden Chief Compliance Officer, Aetna Private Investigator, Kroll Assistant US Attorney (SDNY) CEO, Empower New Haven
Former: Federal Judge (SDNY) US Attorney (CT) Deputy General Counsel, FBI Partner, Skadden Chief Compliance Officer, Aetna Private Investigator, Kroll Assistant US Attorney (SDNY) CEO, Empower New Haven
Girl Dad Cancer Survivor Lifetime Achievement Award (NY Law Journal) Director's Award for Superior Service (DOJ) Chairman's Award (Aetna) Lumbard Award (USAO SDNY) Keynote Speaker Friend
Girl Dad Cancer Survivor Lifetime Achievement Award (NY Law Journal) Director's Award for Superior Service (DOJ) Chairman's Award (Aetna) Lumbard Award (USAO SDNY) Keynote Speaker Friend
Boards: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Cornell University New York Community Trust Weill Cornell Medicine FTI Consulting Dycom Industries
Boards: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Cornell University New York Community Trust Weill Cornell Medicine FTI Consulting Dycom Industries

Firefly Moment: that brief period of time when there is a flash of understanding, love or beauty and the world suddenly becomes enchanted (like the instant a firefly lights the summer evening).

My wife, Kathleen, created firefly moments. She had a knack for casually falling into conversation out of nowhere with complete strangers. One moment, we’d be engaged in a conversation on the corner, waiting for the light to change. Then, in mid-sentence, she would turn her attention to some random person who didn’t realize they needed her touch. From there, anything could happen. Read More »

After many years of interviews, cocktail parties, and work introductions, I was determined to find a way to turn my answers to the standard questions (“Where are you from?” “Where did you go to school?” etc.) into responses that would spur conversation and make me memorable. Read More »

I have often been asked why I have been so lucky in my career. While I sometimes flinch at the suggestion that my success, such that it has been, is the product of luck, I must admit that I have been an “opportunity magnet” as one friend labeled me. That still begs the question, “Why?” Here are some of the attitudes that helped guide me towards success. Read More »

The Drop Off

Once Kathleen passed away, I had one singular focus. How do I get Victoria, who was understandably crushed, to the steps of a college emotionally, physically, psychologically, and academically ready to attack the world. I had seven years to get there. Now those seven years had vanished. I stood next to Victoria on the Stanford campus watching my daughter stare into her future with a big smile on her face.

Girl Dad

What does it mean to be a Girl Dad? There is no one definition. To me it means more than being a father to a daughter. It means that you have centered your daughter in your life. I remember the exact moment I became a Girl Dad.

The glass is not half empty, it is not half full. The glass is always full because half is water, and the other half is air, and we need them both to live.

Book of Rules

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou

Happiness is a function of how you define what happens to you, not what happens to you.

The most precious thing you have and the only thing you can really own is your life and your story. Your life can be ended but it can’t be taken away.

" If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got. "

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