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Life after Investment Banking, part 2
 

anonymousman's picture
IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 8:24am

I just wanted to reply to a few of the comments on my first post... http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/life-after-i...

1. I don't know what else I could do
The picture on this post is an entry I wrote in my journal one hour after walking of the door of the bank.

You don't have to know what you want to do, you don't have to have it all figured out already. People in IBD, in my experience, tend to be unusually risk averse, therefore before quitting (or starting) they want to be able to do some mathematical calculation of happiness in banking = x + y + z, happiness in something else = A + B + C, they want it assured, they want the plan tight and nailed down. I was the same, before the extremity of the situation I was in pushed that mentality out of me. I'm advocating a different way of approaching life, and that's based on the knowledge you can do anything.

You can do anything, no matter how ridiculous it might sound to you now. If you spent even half the hours you spent getting into banking working in anything else you could achieve success in that thing. You've already done it many times in your life, you learnt to walk, talk, you made friends, you got various CV enhancing things under your belt, you can do something else!

A lot of people said they don't know what their passion is. Genuinely, neither did I, music was a coincidence and one that could only have happened with the freedom I had after breaking the chains which weighed me down and clouded my mind and 'self'. When I quit, I didn't know what I would do, but I knew that I could do 'something'! My musical ability isn't a lucky accident, and I've developed ten fold since I left banking as a result of eating, drinking and sleeping music. If you don't know which direction you want to take that's okay, just have faith you'll find out.

2. How do you find your passion?
Pack a backpack and travel. The more you move, the more you move. You will blow your mind meeting the most weird and wonderful people in the most unbelievable situations. You'll meet people living lifestyles you never dreamed possible, based on totally alien values. Then you'll find your place.

3. A job is a job, I got bills to pay
I can't speak for the pressures that come with having a family, and I can't begin to imagine how this changes the equation. I have to stress that I'm in a place with no dependents, and that's kind of the only group I feel qualified to talk to. Though that said, I have to make one key point. This isn't a choice between having money and poverty. Leaving banking doesn't mean you're broke! You don't 'need' the amount of money you think you do, and you aren't as poor as you fear when you step out of the box of your comfort zone. This is fear talking louder than reason, and like I said and keep saying, it takes faith in yourself. You CAN do ANYTHING, you can achieve success in this, and probably will become richer (in more ways than one) as a result of doing something you love and are excited about, though I don't think this ought to be the motivation. Love and passion and happiness comes first, huge money is a nice perk (not one I've experienced yet!).

As a small side note, my brother recently quit a job and started his own business (in a similar industry to the one he worked in) at 34 years old with a family - it's a much bigger risk, but he wanted to be a role model to his child and he's doing well, because he's got more motivation and drive and fire in him than he ever had before.

4. I love banking, your being condescending
To those happy in banking; I didn't want to sound condescending, I just wanted to put some force behind my words. I'm addressing you as the intelligent people you are, I'm not shitting on you, I'm just telling MY story and the lesson I've learned from my time in the industry. Banking helped me find my perspective of the nature of a lot of things; money, prestige, success, material, love, happiness, passion, satisfaction etc. I came to realise that it offered significantly less than what I felt it promised, and took significantly more. I'm sure that there are empassioned happy bankers, and my tip my hat to these people, but experience tells me that this is a very very rare breed. I met far more people who were unhappy but felt trapped. I'm talking to those people, and telling them it's okay to feel this way. Life is short, react, take a leap!

Conclusion
The point I'm trying to hammer home is people are able to do much more than they believe they can, much more than they believe is even possible, and they get there by changing that belief. Perhaps I'm ramming that point too hard. I just really really believe in it. You can do anything! Anything!

When you make a decision with all your passion - this is who I am, this is where I want to be - the world will get out of your way, and you'll discover happiness! That's all I wanted to share. I really don't want to offend anyone who is already happy, I don't want to patronise intelligent people, I just wanted to tell people my experience, my story and my perspective and share some lessons I'd learnt.

All my love, sincerely,
Stephen

Tags:
Nefarious-'s picture

We all appreciate your posts,

CF
(Neanderthal, 2,208
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 9:30am

We all appreciate your posts, but I have to be the douchebag and do this as it is a huge pet peeve of mine and you have been doing this consistently through your posts.

"Your" shows possession and "You're" is a contraction meaning "You are."

Please, for the love of god, use them appropriately.

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.

ken_wso's picture

Thanks for sharing, Stephen

 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 9:46am

Thanks for sharing, Stephen

HFFBALLfan123's picture

You did live in London, which

PE
(King Kong, 1,370
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 9:59am

You did live in London, which is kind of a shithole, maybe some correlation between that and unhappiness... Otherwise, awesome write-up, kudos...

why werent you able to save

BeenPrepping (not verified)
(Chimp, 0
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:08am

why werent you able to save more than 15,000?

UFOinsider's picture

Thanks for sharing and good

O
(Human, 10,302
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:11am

Thanks for sharing and good luck. Look back on your time in IBD as a learning experience. Your 20's aren't supposed to be the high point of life, they are the starting point of adult life, remember this. Also, take the same self honesty with you to music: it's a business, make no mistake about that, and there's more pure talent, unbridled ambition ...and desperation... there than any other profession. My family history is in the arts and while not everyone makes it to global theater, you don't want to be the 40 year old working in a bar until they 'make it', so choose your path wisely. Between vagabond and banking slave, there are a huge spectrum of options that, sadly, aren't often discussed. You're in your 20's and you can take some risks, realize this will change. I once WAS YOU (not banking though, another focus) and can say with certainty that you will change as a person. You will grow in directions you can't forsee now, and the same desire to be rich and famous (which banking apparently didn't satisfy quickly and easily enough for you) will also be subject to alteration. There is nothing wrong with wanting to 'make it big', and if I sound a little jaded it's because (1) I haven't yet (2) it's not the only thing in life and (3) you will find that there's more to life than fortune and fame. Don't define yourself or your happiness by how much you achieve. Personally, I'd rather live a long and fulfilling life than have a billion dollars, be on the cover of a magazine, or bang a thousand women (I just need one). I sense that some part of you has come to terms with this, but you are young and naive and I actually envy you: you see the world with fresh eyes and I live within a somewhat hardened mindset. My point of view has certain benefits as well, which you will discover as you get older and your priorities change.

Ultimately, I don't doubt that you will be successful at what you choose to do. I simply want to add that keeping the big picture of life in mind, even if in the very back corner, will serve you better than any career achievement, in banking, entertainment, or anything else. WHY you do things will matter every bit as much as WHAT you do.

Drop a post here at some point to keep us posted. You're an interesting person and I wish you the best of all possible luck.

YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...

happypantsmcgee's picture

The image of you playing

O
(Almost Human, 9,621
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:24am

The image of you playing piano in the lobby of your bank, suit all wrinkled and tie undone after another 20 hour day before you get into the cab to go home, longing to quit would be a great music video.

I expect royalties

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford

anonymousman's picture

Nefarious-: We all appreciate

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:28am
Nefarious-:

We all appreciate your posts, but I have to be the douchebag and do this as it is a huge pet peeve of mine and you have been doing this consistently through your posts.

"Your" shows possession and "You're" is a contraction meaning "You are."

Please, for the love of god, use them appropriately.

Haha dude I only did it once, but I apologise! Corrected! I can hear my old English teacher writhe!

SC911's picture

i'm in criminal banking..

(Baboon, 118
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:39am

i'm in criminal banking..

M Friedman's picture

yelllowww diamonds in the

(King Kong, 1,007
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 11:41am

yelllowww diamonds in the rough

See my WSO blogs here.

go.with.the.flow's picture

+1

EN
(King Kong, 1,109
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 11:56am

+1

|| But feeling good and enjoying life are prerequisites to success, not by products of it- Midas Mulligan Magoo ||

Powa23's picture

Thanks again and keep them

(Orangutan, 291
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 2:15pm

Thanks again and keep them coming ! As many people here on WSO are college kids, I'm sure they'll appreciate a spectrum of views

Downeasta's picture

Great post man, I wish you

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 2:17pm

Great post man, I wish you the best.

cyoungmark's picture

This post actually answered a

(Monkey, 35
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 2:39pm

This post actually answered a question I've been dealing with personally and actually made a post about recently. I've decided focus more on building and managing a fund; I have extreme passion about the markets and this post helped me realize banking/accounting (or anything from the sell side) isn't the right way to express that passion.

Thanks for the help sir. I also thought it was humorous how the piano in the lobby was like foreshadowing your future career; a book could be written about your story.

finger_me_elmo's picture

+1 you aren't a sheep like

PE
(Baboon, 129
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 4:01pm

+1 you aren't a sheep like many people on this forum

Whats the matter? Scared of my little red fuzzy anus? Don't be shy,let me show you the way, give me your hand and I will take you to paradise <3

Kind Regards,

ElmElm

Aero's picture

anonymousman: I just wanted

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 4:29pm
anonymousman:

I just wanted to reply to a few of the comments on my first post... http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/life-after-i...

1. I don't know what else I could do
The picture on this post is an entry I wrote in my journal one hour after walking of the door of the bank.

You don't have to know what you want to do, you don't have to have it all figured out already. People in IBD, in my experience, tend to be unusually risk averse, therefore before quitting (or starting) they want to be able to do some mathematical calculation of happiness in banking = x + y + z, happiness in something else = A + B + C, they want it assured, they want the plan tight and nailed down. I was the same, before the extremity of the situation I was in pushed that mentality out of me. I'm advocating a different way of approaching life, and that's based on the knowledge you can do anything.

You can do anything, no matter how ridiculous it might sound to you now. If you spent even half the hours you spent getting into banking working in anything else you could achieve success in that thing. You've already done it many times in your life, you learnt to walk, talk, you made friends, you got various CV enhancing things under your belt, you can do something else!

A lot of people said they don't know what their passion is. Genuinely, neither did I, music was a coincidence and one that could only have happened with the freedom I had after breaking the chains which weighed me down and clouded my mind and 'self'. When I quit, I didn't know what I would do, but I knew that I could do 'something'! My musical ability isn't a lucky accident, and I've developed ten fold since I left banking as a result of eating, drinking and sleeping music. If you don't know which direction you want to take that's okay, just have faith you'll find out.

2. How do you find your passion?
Pack a backpack and travel. The more you move, the more you move. You will blow your mind meeting the most weird and wonderful people in the most unbelievable situations. You'll meet people living lifestyles you never dreamed possible, based on totally alien values. Then you'll find your place.

[b]When you make a decision with all your passion - this is who I am, this is where I want to be - the world will get out of your way, and you'll discover happiness! That's all I wanted to share. I really don't want to offend anyone who is already happy, I don't want to patronise intelligent people, I just wanted to tell people my experience, my story and my perspective and share some lessons I'd learnt. [/b]

All my love, sincerely,
Stephen

I'm a little confused, as the bolded part seems inconsistent with the above. You're saying you can make a drastic decision like to quit a banking job if you apply all your passion to it. However, before you say that you don't need to know what your passion is before taking that step, that you can find your passion with your new found freedom. Could you please explain?

MBAApply's picture

UFOinsider: Thanks for

EN
(King Kong, 1,006
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 5:15pm

Alex Chu
www.mbaapply.com

MBAApply's picture

Stephen, I am glad you have

EN
(King Kong, 1,006
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 5:29pm

Alex Chu
www.mbaapply.com

Voltaire X's picture

What I took from this was

ST
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 5:28pm
anonymousman's picture

Aero: anonymousman: I just

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 8:04pm
Aero's picture

anonymousman: Aero: anony

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/26/12 at 10:12pm
Schotts's picture

anonymousman: I just wanted

IB
(Chimp, 5
 
Points)
 on 4/28/12 at 12:11pm
dazedmonk's picture

The comment about the face

IB
 
Points)
 on 4/29/12 at 1:17am
Genetic's picture

dazedmonk: The comment about

 
Points)
 on 4/29/12 at 5:09pm
Hank Rearden's picture

Whats OP??

IB
(Baboon, 173
 
Points)
 on 9/17/12 at 1:25am

If you ain't gettin money dat mean you done somethin wrong.

" If you have built castles in the
air , your work need not be lost;
that is where they should be .
Now put the foundations under
them." - Henry David Thoreau

clio.thaker's picture

Great article. I worked in

(Chimp, 2
 
Points)
 on 1/10/13 at 9:12pm
twinyankees's picture

anonymousman: I just wanted

(Chimp, 2
 
Points)
 on 3/14/13 at 10:54am

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