Would you trade places with your MD?
He strolls into the office whenever he wants, looking sharp and slick. The only thing shinier than his new, freshly polished Ferragamo loafers is the 24K gold on his cufflinks. Or maybe it's his new Patek Phillippe, the one he bought on a whim after seeing an ad in the back of The Economist (which he reads every week as he travels first-class to major business centers around the world).
A lot of analysts tend to glorify MD's and put them up on a pedestal. It's not just the clothes. It's not even the money. It's the power they wield we lust after. To be a BSD in finance - one of the fat cats of Wall Street who are simultaneously hated and admired by regular folk. That's the end goal. When we get to MD-status, we've accomplished what we've been working so hard for our entire lives. And I'm not just talking about MDs in investment banking - I'm talking about the hedge fund manager, or the partner in a private equity or venture capital fund, or even the CEO of a large company. We lust after what these people possess - status. And all that comes along with it.
But would you trade places with one of these cats, if you could? Think about it. Your MD is probably 45 years old, so he's balding. He's overweight. The only thing keeping his wife from hating him is all the money he throws at her. She's probably sleeping with the pool boy, anyway, so she doesn't care about him anymore (in a relationship, apathy can be worse than hate). His kids barely know him.
And even if all these things weren't true...
Half his life is already gone. And more importantly, he got to where he is by working for it. If you traded places with him, you'd rob yourself the satisfaction of getting there by your own merit.
We tend to keep our eyes on the end-goal, thinking that getting there will make us happy. But happiness is synthesized by our brains, and we always overestimate how much happiness something is going to bring us, and underestimate how much happiness getting there will bring us.
Take college, for example. You worked hard for 4 years to get into a top school. Some of you made it, some didn't. Most got into a good school, at least. How happy did that make you? It was great for a little while, then you actually got there and your happiness "leveled off" as you set your sights on the next thing - banking.
My point here is that I think we should all take a deep breath from time to time, and enjoy our current situation in life. Stop to smell the roses. Happiness really is in the journey, not the destination. Clichés aside, I think a lot of us would be happier if we stopped focusing so much on where we want to be, and started focusing on where we are now. The future is uncertain anyway, so live in the present!
tl;dr stop to smell the fking roses







This is so stupid, of course,
This is so stupid, of course, skip 20 years of working to be a baller on da street? lol dumb question
seriously though, i'm not happy at an ivy because there's more to be achieved - still need to go into banking, gunning for the top shops a la GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A and BX M&A in that order of prestige/exit oppys. At banking one is not happy because of the need to go to PE. I can imagine the Hellman&Friedman or Silver Lake guys being unhappy because they are not at the top funds, but once you get into KKR/BX and there's nowhere up, I can't imagine that you won't be happy for the rest (or a significant chunk) of your life.
Talk to a couple of principal
Talk to a couple of principal investing guys (PE or HF) about their view of investment banking MDs and you'll get a different view. Analysts may glorify their MDs, but I can tell you that the rest of the finance world sees them as highly-paid sales guys who, more often than not, don't earn their fees.
firefighter wrote: This is so
This is so stupid, of course, skip 20 years of working to be a baller on da street? lol dumb question
seriously though, i'm not happy at an ivy because there's more to be achieved - still need to go into banking, gunning for the top shops a la GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A and BX M&A in that order of prestige/exit oppys. At banking one is not happy because of the need to go to PE. I can imagine the Hellman&Friedman or Silver Lake guys being unhappy because they are not at the top funds, but once you get into KKR/BX and there's nowhere up, I can't imagine that you won't be happy for the rest (or a significant chunk) of your life.
Is this a joke? You tie your happiness and self-worth to the name on your business card? What a miserable way to go through life.
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"Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America."
firefighter wrote: This is so
This is so stupid, of course, skip 20 years of working to be a baller on da street? lol dumb question
seriously though, i'm not happy at an ivy because there's more to be achieved - still need to go into banking, gunning for the top shops a la GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A and BX M&A in that order of prestige/exit oppys. At banking one is not happy because of the need to go to PE. I can imagine the Hellman&Friedman or Silver Lake guys being unhappy because they are not at the top funds, but once you get into KKR/BX and there's nowhere up, I can't imagine that you won't be happy for the rest (or a significant chunk) of your life.
Wow, simply, wow... If you really think the guys at Silver Lake give the slightest bit of a fuck about getting into KKR than you are a complete idiot.
firefighter wrote: This is so
This is so stupid, of course, skip 20 years of working to be a baller on da street? lol dumb question
seriously though, i'm not happy at an ivy because there's more to be achieved - still need to go into banking, gunning for the top shops a la GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A and BX M&A in that order of prestige/exit oppys. At banking one is not happy because of the need to go to PE. I can imagine the Hellman&Friedman or Silver Lake guys being unhappy because they are not at the top funds, but once you get into KKR/BX and there's nowhere up, I can't imagine that you won't be happy for the rest (or a significant chunk) of your life.
There's always somewhere "up".
Really, I can't imagine a
Really, I can't imagine a better / more prestigious job than partner at KKR - it is simply the pinnacle and definition of success and prestige. Almost definitely will make you a happy person. Money and status buys happiness baby. Maybe a fund manager at a top HF, but then it is similar.
Eric Stratton
This is so stupid, of course, skip 20 years of working to be a baller on da street? lol dumb question
seriously though, i'm not happy at an ivy because there's more to be achieved - still need to go into banking, gunning for the top shops a la GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A and BX M&A in that order of prestige/exit oppys. At banking one is not happy because of the need to go to PE. I can imagine the Hellman&Friedman or Silver Lake guys being unhappy because they are not at the top funds, but once you get into KKR/BX and there's nowhere up, I can't imagine that you won't be happy for the rest (or a significant chunk) of your life.
Is this a joke? You tie your happiness and self-worth to the name on your business card? What a miserable way to go through life.
I thought it was a joke, until i saw his thread attempting to have a tournament of banking prestige....
firefighter wrote: Really, I
Really, I can't imagine a better / more prestigious job than partner at KKR - it is simply the pinnacle and definition of success and prestige. Almost definitely will make you a happy person. Money and status buys happiness baby. Maybe a fund manager at a top HF, but then it is similar.
Oh dear god this kid is exactly what's wrong with finance these days...
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And I guarantee you guys 100%
And I guarantee you guys 100% that firefighter is not a happy person right now since he's obviously putting all his eggs into the money/prestige basket (this is what ppl do when they suck at everything else)....when was the last time you got your tip wet buddy?
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Beef wrote: We tend to keep
We tend to keep our eyes on the end-goal, thinking that getting there will make us happy. But happiness is synthesized by our brains, and we always overestimate how much happiness something is going to bring us, and underestimate how much happiness getting there will bring us.
You must of seen this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTO_dZUvbJA
For my aspiring Entrepreneurial Nomads, check out my blog.
alexpasch wrote: And I
And I guarantee you guys 100% that firefighter is not a happy person right now since he's obviously putting all his eggs into the money/prestige basket (this is what ppl do when they suck at everything else)....when was the last time you got your tip wet buddy?
This is the exact kind of negative reinforcement this site needs in order to keep from being taken over by ass clowns...
Those downvoting me are just
Those downvoting me are just jelly. if it dont make dollars it dont make sense. paper + status what else is better? KKR or bust bro, so fucking prestigious
^^^^Firefighter has to be a
^^^^Firefighter has to be a poe/troll/what's the term?
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I actually agree with the OP.
I actually agree with the OP. There was a discussion on this subject recently. There is always a higher goal and people focus too much on that goal. Unless they achieve that gaosl they're not gonna be satisfied. But how big is the change you actually get to be a fund manager at a top hedge fund/ PE fund? And what if you're actually there? Is that it, pursuing a goal and than not having a goal anymore. Isn't that going to be strange. Referring to a post earlier Will Smit said something like "you have to build a wall brick by brick".
Don't some of you guys
Don't some of you guys realize that you might get that super prestigious career one day after tons of hard work, and realize it's not all it's cracked up to be? Seems like this sort of thing happens all the time...
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HFFBALLfan123
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
firefighter wrote: Really, I
Not that I am one to speak
I wouldn't trade places with
40 yr old MDs dont get
youngIBD wrote: 40 yr old MDs
firefighter wrote: Really, I
We've got half a million shares in the bag!
Hell naw it's all about the
Juwanna Mann wrote: youngIBD
youngIBD wrote: Juwanna Mann
Juwanna Mann wrote: youngIBD
u kids are seriously
firefighter wrote: u kids are
Time>Money "If there's one
"Focus on the journey, not
"Have you ever tried to use a chain with 3 weak links? I have, and now I no longer own an arctic wolf."
-Dwight Schrute
Go watch "Blink". Sums up
Wall Street leaders now understand that they made a mistake, one born of their innocent and trusting nature. They trusted ordinary Americans to behave more responsibly than they themselves ever would, and these ordinary Americans betrayed their trust.
firefighter wrote: u kids are
These forums aren't getting
Strategy Everything.
In an ethics class at school,
Head of Metal Website: www.headofmetal.com
https://twitter.com/headofmetal2012
Kids on here have no fucking
Don't you guys have some
Damn, so owning a bust is
You guys are getting trolled.
Great inital post @
- Only time will tell....
I think happiness comes to
So far the word fuck has been
I would hope that I stay
It's what you put into it
Pfalzer wrote: In an ethics
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Il Cavaliere wrote: So far
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
this site is seriously
leveredarb wrote: this site
It's what you put into it
The problem with these
XPJ wrote: Different things
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
UFOinsider wrote: XPJ
Welcome to trollapalooza...