How diversified is your life?

Mod Note: Throwback Thursday: this post originally went up on 08/13/13

Reaching for that golden ring of career success, as most of the monkeys here are trying to do, can have significant costs. Some are obvious: preparing for interviews, networking, and getting top grades in college take time away from drinking and fornicating. And once you start working, you’ll likely need to deal with unreasonable bosses combined with an expanding waistline from too much SeamlessWeb and not enough time in the gym.

There are also some more subtle costs that come from placing as much emphasis on your career as we tend to here. After all, what happens when you get your dream job…and 6-months in realize you despise it? What if you've done everything you can to transition from IB to PE but managed to fail miserably? A number of posts over the years have centered on these very questions as many monkeys begin to experience their first career troubles and late-20's existential crises.

I think that people that post on this board are uniquely susceptible to taking these sorts of job difficulties very personally. This is because we tend to be poorly diversified in terms of things that we derive intense satisfaction from. Our emotional portfolio is overweight in career advancement.
The great James Altucher has a wonderful post where he discusses how to diversify your life to be more creative and successful. I decided to adapt his basic concept to suggest 4 ways that you can more readily withstand the bumps that will inevitably come up on the road of your career:

1. Sustain your friendships and develop new ones.

It’s generally not hard to find people to go drinking with after work, but it’s usually more difficult to replicate the sort of close friendships that you develop in college. The best way to try and cultivate these sorts of close, post-college friendships is to find people with whom you share strong similar interests, or are working together with towards a common goal. Sports leagues (kickball doesn’t count), volunteering, and church/religious organizations are some of the best ways to do this. It will require a larger investment of time and energy, but should pay greater dividends than relying on going drinking all the time. You may need to try a few things before finding something that sticks, but it will be worth it.
Don’t forget to tend to and cultivate the friendships you do have. Trust me, they can whither away and die otherwise. Make an effort to visit people that live on the other side of the country, and stay in touch with acquaintances from college: you never know when your paths will cross.

2. Develop specialized skills outside of work.

It doesn't even need to be with the goal of developing a side income stream (though that’s not a bad idea). But doing some combination of the following can increase your career “surface area” by exposing you to other people, problems, and ways or working. This in turn can lead to other opportunities down the road, as well as valuable connections.
First, you can look into pro-bono projects that utilize your technical skills: Taproot is one resource. Also: everyone uses Excel, but how many people use it as effectively as a typical consulting/finance monkey? Not many, I’d guess. There must be opportunities out there. A few years ago I was a volunteer tax preparer, helping to complete tax returns for low-income people. It was a great experience and also made me much more thankful for the advantages that I have in life.
Writing is great too. Good communication skills are needed everywhere, and not many people have them. Write for WSO (!), Seeking Alpha, or just start your own blog. Forcing yourself to come up with something every week can help to get your creative juices flowing.

3. Read widely.

Fiction, self-help, philosophy…you’ve probably read enough books about the financial crisis and things in the Liar’s Poker / Monkey Business genre of finance books. Read as widely as possible, and you may be surprised to see what you learn about yourself.

4. Ask yourself what you would do if you lost your job now.

You’d probably bounce back sooner than you think.

I’ll close with a quote from James Altucher, in his original article:

When properly diversfied, nobody can say “no” to you anymore. Disappointments and failures become a natural part of life that you learn from, in the same way you learn from success and opportunity. Intelligence springs forward from the additional creativity. Love comes from the most blossoming part of the social tree you build for yourself.

Monkeys, what do you say? Do you think that your job has sapped your creativity? Are you too dependent on it for your sense of fulfillment? What makes the rough parts easier to bear?

related discussion: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ehrlichfu/2013/08/15/why-college-students-n… by Thomas Ehrlich

 

If I had a SB I'd give it to you.

1 was key for me. I was so bad at it, and at a wedding all of my boys from highschool called me out. All of my close old friends are out of town and scattered throughout the world and my family grew up far away from relatives so long distance relationships were normal to me. It didn't feel natural to call another guy up every couple weeks and shoot the shit for a half hour. Anyhow, now I do that and honestly I'm a lot happier because of it.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I have always said it is better to be a jack of all trades than a master of one. Of course, the only exception to this rule should come if you own your own business. In which case, you would want to be putting out the best product you could possibly put out in that field.

Also, to go back and reference your notes about your twenties: I am of the opinion that your twenties (read: 22-29) are the most difficult and challenging years you will face in your life.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

+1 SB. Great post. One recommendation I have to keep in touch with old college/high school/former work colleagues is keep a running fantasy league with them together. Also, definitely do a live draft (for a number of reasons) but it at least forces you to get together once per year. If fantasy football isn't your thing, find some variation of that. My friends and I have people that are now spread all over the country but they still dial into the draft to hear the goings on and always makes for a great day to shoot the shit and catch up.

 

I remember this article from James, it was a great read! Midas Mulligan Magoo aggressively urged the monkeys of WSO to have a hobby (his was fingerpainting).

And mine, of course, is going to concerts and building Head of Metal!

Metal. Music. Life. www.headofmetal.com
 
In The Flesh:

I remember this article from James, it was a great read! Midas Mulligan Magoo aggressively urged the monkeys of WSO to have a hobby (his was fingerpainting).

And mine, of course, is going to concerts and building Head of Metal!

Whatever happened to that guy?

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 
Nefarious-:
In The Flesh:

I remember this article from James, it was a great read! Midas Mulligan Magoo aggressively urged the monkeys of WSO to have a hobby (his was fingerpainting).

And mine, of course, is going to concerts and building Head of Metal!

Whatever happened to that guy?

He got really into the 60s and no one ever saw him again.
Follow the shit your fellow monkeys say @shitWSOsays Life is hard, it's even harder when you're stupid - John Wayne
 

Great post! You do need something outside of your job or schoolwork. Not talking about something to do just for leisure but that one thing you are passionate about and really good at or want to be good at. It gives life a different color.

 

Awesome post. Gave you a SB. The first point regarding close-knit friends is on point. I can go out with work buddies and get drunk any given Friday or Saturday, but it doesn't compare to just hanging with old college buddies. Making high quality friends is considerably more difficult and much more time-consuming in the real world, especially in Consulting.

 

I'm the worst at keeping in touch, and I have close friends throughout the country. When I talk to these friends it is usually the best day of the week though. Lately I've been trying to stay in better touch with them and my family, family is 1500 miles away. Life feel much better.

When a plumber from Hoboken tells you he has a good feeling about a reverse iron condor spread on the Japanese Yen, you really have no choice. If you don’t do it to him, somebody else surely will. -Eddie B.
 
Best Response
Hayek:

I think that people that post on this board are uniquely susceptible to taking these sorts of job difficulties very personally. This is because we tend to be poorly diversified in terms of things that we derive intense satisfaction from. Our emotional portfolio is overweight in career advancement.
The great James Altucher has a wonderful post where he discusses how to diversify your life to be more creative and successful. I decided to adapt his basic concept to suggest 4 ways that you can more readily withstand the bumps that will inevitably come up on the road of your career:

1. Sustain your friendships and develop new ones.

2. Develop specialized skills outside of work.

3. Read widely.

4. Ask yourself what you would do if you lost your job now.

You’d probably bounce back sooner than you think.

I kept clicking on the light blue Bananas icon and it looks like I'm only allowed to give you 1 SB.

The paragraph I quoted could not have said it better -- most of us spent the majority of our free time outside classes/homework for recruiting at least for the latter half of our college careers, just to get the job.
It's only natural to continue the overweight focus on career advancement, and it is an absolutely MISERABLE experience to realize that the real world isn't so clear cut with the next steps like a recruiting season in school.

I really wish I had this post when I just came out of college years ago, and could not agree more with all 4 points above. Since I'm an old fart, I actually figured out myself to follow more or less the exact list, but after learning about their importance the hard way.

Wanted to elaborate on #1: I've worked for 3 years and met all kinds of people in the city... but you will rarely find close friends after college especially if you work in this industry. I never even worked IBD hours and I can say I havent made a single close friend out of the people I met after I moved to the city. I actually do a lot socially after year 1... So MAKE TIME for your old friends. I don't care if it's facebook chat or skype or phone (i know it's weird especially for guys).. KEEP in touch somehow. The emptiness of your 'friendship' with your drinking/models/bottles buddies will become obvious just when you hit the rough patch bout 3mo-6mo into year one.. and it is NOT pretty if you are also losing old close friends on the other end. I made this mistake myself. Remember everyone will 'understand' your long hours (as an excuse to not be there).. but your friends with 9-5 hours will go on to meet up without you. If you don't make yourself show up at least once in a while, you'll be left behind. A combination of feeling friendless and a rough patch at work is absolutely toxic.

 

how do you guys manage to stay in touch with high school and college buddies when you work all over the country? i have a running facebook thread going with about 10 high school friends but it isnt really enough to keep in touch. do you plan a meetup somewhere (old high school or college) every few months or something?

 
ChrisHansen:

how do you guys manage to stay in touch with high school and college buddies when you work all over the country? i have a running facebook thread going with about 10 high school friends but it isnt really enough to keep in touch. do you plan a meetup somewhere (old high school or college) every few months or something?

i dont think most people i know do much more than a running fbook thread... when everyone goes home for the holidays, try to meet up for at least 1 night.. that helps a lot

 
ChrisHansen:

how do you guys manage to stay in touch with high school and college buddies when you work all over the country? i have a running facebook thread going with about 10 high school friends but it isnt really enough to keep in touch. do you plan a meetup somewhere (old high school or college) every few months or something?

Try to go home at least once a year and plan a dinner/drinks to catch up with them (especially if they're still located in your original city/town).

I also just send texts/emails.

 

In terms of keeping in touch with high school friends, I started a Fantasy Baseball league with 9 of my buddies from high school. We've had this league since 6th grade actually, and we've kept 7/10 original members in tact over the past 10 years. This is a great excuse to bring everyone together at least once a year, and we keep in touch for draft and various other baseball talk. It's been hugely beneficial to me and if you can get enough guys, becomes a great way to do it. We have plans to go to Vegas for a draft, and we did an Atlantic City trip last year and it was great.

Also, OP great post. Really enjoyed it. +1

 

Agree with the reading diverse materials. Avidly read finance books in college and now realize how one dimensional that is. The only reading I do in regards to finance is educational/instructional; onto bigger and better things in my spare time!

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

Totally agree on all of this. SB to you. I still sometimes think about the money I've given up to pursue another option in same industry, but I don't regret it at all. I might not get close to those numbers for a long time, but I'm way happier and my personal life has reflected that. I've become more creative, more interesting and interested, and just a nicer and more present person all together.

Thought of continuing CFA and decided against it, better to focus on career and then spend your free time learning and actually doing all this other great stuff life has to offer. It's amazing the things you'll find interesting and like doing once you stop worrying so much about "finance" and career and learn to enjoy the process instead.

This ties into one of the bonus bananas articles where the founder of Samuel Adams said: “I remind people getting rich is life’s great booby prize. Any normal person would much rather be happy than rich.” He also mentioned that rarely will an entreprenuerial venture make you rich, so it should be something that makes you happy (ie he had a passion for brewing beer).

All in all, my mindset has been shifting significantly to worry less about career and money and much more about being well rounded and appreciating everything else life has to offer...

 

thank you so much for posting this. i wish i had more nanners to give.

If we blame others for our failure then we should also give them credit for our successes.
 

Definitely like the idea of broader reading. I've been working on that lately as well. Currently reading Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky) rather than my usual investing books.

"Successful investing is anticipating the anticipation of others". - John Maynard Keynes
 

This is a great article, and what makes it even more powerful is that even though the aim is to do the above mentioned things to help you deal with difficulties in our professional lives, doing the same things will actually make you much more successful on the professional front as well.

Because this board is concentrated with people at the junior level who tend to lack client-facing/business development responsibilities at their current role, the posters here often don't know that being a real "rainmaker" requires people skills that are entirely different from the the technical skills needed to succeed when first starting out.

Think about it, who will an executive at a prospective company rather talk to? The MD who's got funny stories from the weekend trip he just had with his buddies, or the MD who spends all of his time talking markets and little else? Not only that, the more involved you are with extracurricular activities (sports, church, social organization, etc.), the more likely you'll encounter those "chance" occurrences where you run into/are introduced to someone who needs your skills to solve a problem.

I'll leave everyone with a quote from Siegmund Warburg, a co-founder of S.G. Warburg and the individual responsible for the establishment of the EuroBond market, "‘First make a person your friend and then become his banker."

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
 

Thanks for the kind words everyone...I don't read WSO too often these days but recently logged in and was surprised to see my alerts/"silver bananas" blowing up...happy new year to you all, glad that so many of you found this useful.

 

Promoting diversity is racism. Allowing diversity is the only right thing to do;

I feel sorry for the competent minorities who earned their jobs, as their perceived status will be dragged down by the bunch of undeserving minorities that will be hired as a result of this.

I'm also more and more fed up with the entire diversity culture - I refuse to feel guilty for being a white, educated, ambitious and anarcho-capitalistic individual with a low time preference and a sound understanding of economic and political philosophy.

Why aren't Asians minorities? They suffered too you know. Maybe it's because they have a culture that promotes honesty and hard work and couldn't care less about bling bling and being the coolest kid in town?

 

Oh, I see. Well, then I suppose certain minorities (Asian/Indian/Mid Eastern) must be pretty overrepresented. It seems like a lot of the associates/analyst profiles online feature an Asian or Indian person. I haven't worked on the Street, but I would guess that quotas would hit them the hardest. By the way, for anyone that's in the know, I'd be curious what the demographics of a typical analyst/associate pool would look like. I've seen women put at 10-20%, but I've never seen any type of ethnic breakdown.

For Indians, I know a lot of them come from overseas and attend Ivy League MBA programs. So that may account for some level of overrepresentation. For Asians, lots of them at the undergrad level if good b schools and also, to a lesser extent, MBA programs..

 

Diversity in theory is great...

But in reality from what I've seen it's not that great at all

I grew up in a part of the country that's considered by many to be very "diverse" So statistically it looked diverse, in reality what I ended up seeing in the cafeteria was that all the people of an ethnic group would generally sit with one another.

So you had your black table, your asian table, your hispanic table, etc. So yes my high school was "diverse" but the actual amount of interaction and intermingling between the different ethnic groups was relatively minimal.

Wall Street already has programs aiming for diversity hiring, bringing in underrepresented minorities to positions that may not be otherwise available to them. SEO is an example of this.

I am all up for diversity if it actually works. Who wouldn't benefit from being able to work with and interact with people with a different background from themselves? But the way it's implemented in reality unfortunately doesn't necessarily allow this to happen.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_group

"A minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society."

That definition fits Indian and Asians just as much as Black and Mexicans.

You know what I think is racist? Telling people who come from very poor countries (India and China), who cross an ocean and come to a country to make a better life, who study hard because it is their ticket out of poverty, who are model citizens, contributing to this wonderful country, becoming doctors and engineers, and saying to them that they are not minorities. Minorities in this country are just people with a significant bitching factor who this country has to continually help and benefit with no discernible change in fundamental behavior or class status.

Oh, thats right, I am white and I was born to oppress and deny people of color a good life. Let me clarify though because apparently I only oppress one color and not Indian brown or Asian yellow. I am basically a terminator, programmed to keep one specific color in poverty even though they have been citizens of this country and free for a long time now. Pretty funny how brown Indians can come over on a boat and be here for a year and be doing better than other people who have enjoyed the benefits and freedom of America forever now.

Yawn. You know why no one discusses the topic of race in this country? It is because no one gives a shit. I do me and you do you. Every company has "diversity" requirements. Every college has affirmative action. We are doing everything possible to make things equal.

My solution. Could we just fire 20% of the white people, evict them from their houses, take their cars and give them to minorities. I will happily live in a box for a couple weeks if that means I never have to hear anymore pissing and fucking moaning. My two year old niece doesn't bitch and moan as much as full grown adults.

Wait, I forgot, the CIA invented AIDS and crack cocaine. My bad.

 
Anthony .:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_group

"A minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society."

That definition fits Indian and Asians just as much as Black and Mexicans.

You know what I think is racist? Telling people who come from very poor countries (India and China), who cross an ocean and come to a country to make a better life, who study hard because it is their ticket out of poverty, who are model citizens, contributing to this wonderful country, becoming doctors and engineers, and saying to them that they are not minorities. Minorities in this country are just people with a significant bitching factor who this country has to continually help and benefit with no discernible change in fundamental behavior or class status.

Oh, thats right, I am white and I was born to oppress and deny people of color a good life. Let me clarify though because apparently I only oppress one color and not Indian brown or Asian yellow. I am basically a terminator, programmed to keep one specific color in poverty even though they have been citizens of this country and free for a long time now. Pretty funny how brown Indians can come over on a boat and be here for a year and be doing better than other people who have enjoyed the benefits and freedom of America forever now.

Yawn. You know why no one discusses the topic of race in this country? It is because no one gives a shit. I do me and you do you. Every company has "diversity" requirements. Every college has affirmative action. We are doing everything possible to make things equal.

My solution. Could we just fire 20% of the white people, evict them from their houses, take their cars and give them to minorities. I will happily live in a box for a couple weeks if that means I never have to hear anymore pissing and fucking moaning. My two year old niece doesn't bitch and moan as much as full grown adults.

Wait, I forgot, the CIA invented AIDS and crack cocaine. My bad.

yo mamma so fat she wore a X on her t shirt and a helicopter tried to land on her

 
Anthony .:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_group

"A minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society."

That definition fits Indian and Asians just as much as Black and Mexicans.

You know what I think is racist? Telling people who come from very poor countries (India and China), who cross an ocean and come to a country to make a better life, who study hard because it is their ticket out of poverty, who are model citizens, contributing to this wonderful country, becoming doctors and engineers, and saying to them that they are not minorities. Minorities in this country are just people with a significant bitching factor who this country has to continually help and benefit with no discernible change in fundamental behavior or class status.

Oh, thats right, I am white and I was born to oppress and deny people of color a good life. Let me clarify though because apparently I only oppress one color and not Indian brown or Asian yellow. I am basically a terminator, programmed to keep one specific color in poverty even though they have been citizens of this country and free for a long time now. Pretty funny how brown Indians can come over on a boat and be here for a year and be doing better than other people who have enjoyed the benefits and freedom of America forever now.

Yawn. You know why no one discusses the topic of race in this country? It is because no one gives a shit. I do me and you do you. Every company has "diversity" requirements. Every college has affirmative action. We are doing everything possible to make things equal.

My solution. Could we just fire 20% of the white people, evict them from their houses, take their cars and give them to minorities. I will happily live in a box for a couple weeks if that means I never have to hear anymore pissing and fucking moaning. My two year old niece doesn't bitch and moan as much as full grown adults.

Wait, I forgot, the CIA invented AIDS and crack cocaine. My bad.

You do realize that most of the Indians and Asians who come to the USA to study or work are from their respective countries' upper classes right? just b/c they look brown doesn't mean they were bathing in the river Ganges and eating cockroaches for supper back in India, fairly confident that no one from the "untouchable" caste is making it over here.

Furthermore, Asians and Indians for the very most part don't live under the poverty line in the USA, unlike the majority of blacks and hispanics. In fact, I would wager that the average Asian/Indian family in the USA earns more than the average white family. This is the reason that Asians/Indians are not treated as minorities for educational and employment purposes.

Finally, regarding standardized tests- inner city blacks and hispanics receive hands-down the worst education in the country. They have the worst teachers and the worst resources- not to mention the fact that their home life is inevitably unstable and full of drugs/violence/negative peer pressure. Do you think that if you had grown up in such an environment you would have been prepared to do well on the SAT? Wouldn't you think that 99 times out of a 100, the white/asian/indian middle-upper class kid is going to do better than you because he/she went to a good high school and his/her parents paid for an SAT tutor?

I'm not supporting affirmative action or making any statements, I'm just trying to point out that it is fairly silly to: 1)put asians/indians in the same group as blacks/hispanics for educational/employment purposes 2)think that blacks/hispanics don't have significant disadvantages concerning standardized testing

 
Anthony .:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_group

"A minority is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society."

That definition fits Indian and Asians just as much as Black and Mexicans.

You know what I think is racist? Telling people who come from very poor countries (India and China), who cross an ocean and come to a country to make a better life, who study hard because it is their ticket out of poverty, who are model citizens, contributing to this wonderful country, becoming doctors and engineers, and saying to them that they are not minorities. Minorities in this country are just people with a significant bitching factor who this country has to continually help and benefit with no discernible change in fundamental behavior or class status.

Oh, thats right, I am white and I was born to oppress and deny people of color a good life. Let me clarify though because apparently I only oppress one color and not Indian brown or Asian yellow. I am basically a terminator, programmed to keep one specific color in poverty even though they have been citizens of this country and free for a long time now. Pretty funny how brown Indians can come over on a boat and be here for a year and be doing better than other people who have enjoyed the benefits and freedom of America forever now.

Yawn. You know why no one discusses the topic of race in this country? It is because no one gives a shit. I do me and you do you. Every company has "diversity" requirements. Every college has affirmative action. We are doing everything possible to make things equal.

My solution. Could we just fire 20% of the white people, evict them from their houses, take their cars and give them to minorities. I will happily live in a box for a couple weeks if that means I never have to hear anymore pissing and fucking moaning. My two year old niece doesn't bitch and moan as much as full grown adults.

Wait, I forgot, the CIA invented AIDS and crack cocaine. My bad.

Amen to that. Asians/Indians work hard and succeed so they aren't minorities. WTF???

 

A little history lesson for everyone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_American_history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment

I don't know, being used as replacement slave labor, anti immigration sentiments, interned during WW2, nuked twice, yet nothing, not even a complaint. Take a look at any college campus and tell me if you see a defeated or oppressed people.

I am not saying that there is not a disparity or possibly biased opinions, but the idea there is some mass racist conspiracy that only is directed towards one race is retarded.

Standardized tests are biased towards one group over another? That is probably the most racist thing I have ever heard.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=35935

I know it is just a blog, but read it and see what it says. It says because certain minorities answer questions correctly at a lower percentage than others the tests are culturally biased.

No, they are biased towards having a basic education. I completely agree that inner city schools need more funding and we need to do more to promote education and college in inner city communities, but the plain fact is I cannot go into someones house and turn off the TV and force them to read. I cannot prevent single family households. I cannot tell people to idolize and strive to be doctors, lawyers, business men, etc.

Standardized tests favor people who have a solid foundation in math, reading, writing, etc. The answer is not to call the tests racist or give certain groups a higher score. The answer is to try and teach whatever group that is falling below the standards the necessary skills to succeed.

Math, english, science, history, all color blind. Learn the equation, remember certain dates, I before E, except after C, on and on. Learn the basics, build on them and you will be fine.

 
soitwouldseem:
On the SAT they removed the analogies portion of the literacy section, because men scored better than women. Somehow, there is a gender gap with logical thinking.

LOL. Screw Affirmative Action, Hire Men!

Look Away, It's Now Diamonds
 

Without thread hijacking, have any of you tried explaining to women how horrible diamonds are. You can tell a woman about kids dying, losing body parts, how diamonds are not really worth what people pay, how they aren't really that precious and when it is all said and done, "I still want one" comes out of their mouth.

Cubic Zirc FTW

Oh, always get a prenup also

 
Anthony .:
Without thread hijacking, have any of you tried explaining to women how horrible diamonds are. You can tell a woman about kids dying, losing body parts, how diamonds are not really worth what people pay, how they aren't really that precious and when it is all said and done, "I still want one" comes out of their mouth.

Cubic Zirc FTW

Oh, always get a prenup also

In case you haven't already, watch the movie "Blood Diamond". To say it's intense is an understatement.

That's why some jewelers sell legit conflict-free diamonds. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kanyewest/diamondsfromsierraleoneremix.h…

Look Away, It's Now Diamonds
 
Anthony .:
Without thread hijacking, have any of you tried explaining to women how horrible diamonds are. You can tell a woman about kids dying, losing body parts, how diamonds are not really worth what people pay, how they aren't really that precious and when it is all said and done, "I still want one" comes out of their mouth.

Cubic Zirc FTW

Also, Never get married.

Fixed that for you.

What's even more amazing is that no matter how dumb she is she can tell the real from the fake.

 
Anthony .:
Without thread hijacking, have any of you tried explaining to women how horrible diamonds are. You can tell a woman about kids dying, losing body parts, how diamonds are not really worth what people pay, how they aren't really that precious and when it is all said and done, "I still want one" comes out of their mouth.

Cubic Zirc FTW

Oh, always get a prenup also

"Blood Diamonds" are nothing more than an elaborate PR campaign by DeBeers to maintain their monopoly of the diamond business and set exorbitant prices for worthless pieces of rock.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487035894045754174608340795…

And for those of you smart enough to believe the bullshit "blood diamond" documentaries and that overdramatic movie with Leonardl diCaprio, here is a film that is much more informative and unbiased: The Secret World of the Diamond Empire

 

Yeah, whats so funny is no matter how often I am told that they can tell it is a real diamond I still don't care haha.

I have zero issue with buying a ruby, emerald, whatever. I have no problem with gold, titanium, platinum. I have issue with DeBeers telling girls who break my balls that I HAVE to buy a diamond and it has to be at least 2 months salary.

Last time I checked I only HAVE to pay taxes and die. If more men would simply stand up to this lunacy and bullshit we would all be better off.

 

http://www.amnestyusa.org/business-and-human-rights/conflict-diamonds/p…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond

Demand for diamonds increase prices, increased prices increase the demand to mine diamonds. Unsavory countries that have diamond deposits use cheap labor (children) to mine them (they have small hands and can fit in places adults cannot). Not saying that you can track a blood diamond, but I am saying that the demand for them and high price spur unintended consequences.

Kind of like the Ivory trade.

Diamonds are just like home ownership, having children and getting married.Lies perpetuated by society based off old social norms that people take as if they were gospel

 
Anthony .:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/business-and-human-rights/conflict-diamonds/p…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond

Demand for diamonds increase prices, increased prices increase the demand to mine diamonds. Unsavory countries that have diamond deposits use cheap labor (children) to mine them (they have small hands and can fit in places adults cannot). Not saying that you can track a blood diamond, but I am saying that the demand for them and high price spur unintended consequences.

Kind of like the Ivory trade.

Diamonds are just like home ownership, having children and getting married.Lies perpetuated by society based off old social norms that people take as if they were gospel

This reply is for all your past posts and all the diamond haters...food for thought :

I believe that diamond gained its importance because of its sparkle and eventually, as its prices hiked it became a part of rings to symbolize the importance of the woman in man's life and how precious she is for him.

However, some woman (including me) would definitely feel special if the ring is adorned with one of the rarest and precious gems. Its a matter of awareness. If people think that diamond is expensive then please have a look at the cost of the gems that I am about to mention. A few of these gems would definitely cost more than your 2months of salary and a lot of time to find. So, the choice is yours diamond vs rare/precious gems.

Rare/Precious gems: SERENDIBITE,PAINITE, JEREMEJEVITE,BENITOITE,TAAFFEITE My personal favorites: SERENDIBITE and DIAMOND

 

This pisses me off so much. JP Morgan, I shit you not (and I'm sure everyone here may already know) has so many god damn diversity internships, it's ridiculous. They have positions for blacks, womens, and gays. They also don't require you to even be a business major to be in the internship. So basically, if you're white and a finance major, you're at somewhat of a disadvantage. Pretty respectable. Maybe part of the reason certain events happened a couple years ago is because we have a shakespeare major drawing up financial tools.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind blacks, womens, and gays to have jobs on wall street. In fact, I encourage it. But to reserve so many spots just for them is absurd. When does Obama have time to come up with this shit? Between his family being in Spain, and him shooting hoops with the dream team, where does he say "You know what we should do? Increase diversity on Wall Street." Considering blacks have the highest ratio of debt defaults, I really don't think we should promote such a thing, you incompetent arrogant son of a bitch.

 
brooksbrotha:
This pisses me off so much. JP Morgan, I shit you not (and I'm sure everyone here may already know) has so many god damn diversity internships, it's ridiculous. They have positions for blacks, womens, and gays. They also don't require you to even be a business major to be in the internship. So basically, if you're white and a finance major, you're at somewhat of a disadvantage. Pretty respectable. Maybe part of the reason certain events happened a couple years ago is because we have a shakespeare major drawing up financial tools.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind blacks, womens, and gays to have jobs on wall street. In fact, I encourage it. But to reserve so many spots just for them is absurd. When does Obama have time to come up with this shit? Between his family being in Spain, and him shooting hoops with the dream team, where does he say "You know what we should do? Increase diversity on Wall Street." Considering blacks have the highest ratio of debt defaults, I really don't think we should promote such a thing, you incompetent arrogant son of a bitch.

Buddy calm down. There are enough white spots resevered for you lol. Just because you couldn't get an internship at JP Morgan shouldn't mean you have to throw a hissy fit.

 

well be happy you don't have to do recruiting in Europe, specifically London. (though maybe you do BrooksBrotha, I think I remember something about you and DB Europe) The online questionnaires not only ask what race you are, but also what your sexual orientation is and what your religion is...lol

 
Affirmative_Action_Walrus:
well be happy you don't have to do recruiting in Europe, specifically London. (though maybe you do BrooksBrotha, I think I remember something about you and DB Europe) The online questionnaires not only ask what race you are, but also what your sexual orientation is and what your religion is...lol
Really? Unless there's an option where you can keep that information private, that's very personal information and in general, that doesn't need to be known when deciding to hire someone.
Look Away, It's Now Diamonds
 
monty09:
I am the other brown(hispanic) and been working since I was 12... I did not get help or a job because of my skin color.... i feel i should compete with people heads up...however and you can flame me for this but being hisp/black and from the usa has helped a lot in mba admissions.. is that bad as well?

Its even better for law school admissions, and its a pretty solid advantage for someone trying to get into graduate school for math/physics. I think it is bad, because when I see a minority with a degree from Harvard I really dont have the same respect as I would have for a white male with the same degree (not that I have much respect for it to begin with). Also, I feel that my peers dont belong in the same league as I do, and they are just there because of their skin color, gender, etc.

 

Diversity / affirmative action makes me sick to the stomach. It's a tool used to promote laziness in visible minorities (less: Asians/Indians) and keep them oppressed as long as possible. Racism at its finest.

 
jrotmensen:
Diversity / affirmative action makes me sick to the stomach. It's a tool used to promote laziness in visible minorities (less: Asians/Indians) and keep them oppressed as long as possible. Racism at its finest.

Aren't you asian? lol.

I win here, I win there...
 
faciamviam:
http://www.tnr.com/book/review/what-hope

Pretty interesting review. I want to read this book.

"If you finish high school and keep a job without having children before marriage, you will almost certainly not be poor. Period. I have repeatedly felt the air go out of the room upon putting this to black audiences."

Not just African-Americans, but anyone who does not know/realize this fundamental concept needs to drastically change their lifestyle. I know, easier said than done.

Look Away, It's Now Diamonds
 

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I don't want to be a product of the environment, i want the environment to be a product of me
 

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