6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

(Orangutan, 325

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 10:55am

Terrible article, the underlying tone to it was shoot to be average. Not in my DNA. Am I going to listen some guy who writes in the Wall Street Journal or am I going to listen to Jerry Rice? He said, “The Enemy of the best is the good. If you're always settling with what's good, you'll never be the best.”

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I understand where he is

Human

(King Kong, 1,891

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:08am

I understand where he is coming from but I rather die trying (to go beyond my own highest expectations) rather than settling down for mediocrity.

"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."

Actually, you guys are right.

Anacott_CEO

(King Kong, 1,259

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:13am

Actually, you guys are right. I probably shouldn't have told a bunch of people interested in great success to follow those tips. I'm going to say that some tips should be read and then carried out in the opposite fashion.

4. Marry someone smarter than

shorttheworld

(Senior Neanderthal, 4,314

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:18am

4. Marry someone smarter than you are. When I was getting a Ph.D., my wife Leah had a steady income. When she wanted to start a software company, I had a job with health benefits. (To clarify, having a "spouse with benefits" is different from having a "friend with benefits.") You will do better in life if you have a second economic oar in the water. I also want to alert you to the fact that commencement is like shooting smart fish in a barrel. The Phi Beta Kappa members will have pink-and-blue ribbons on their gowns. The summa cum laude graduates have their names printed in the program. Seize the opportunity!

I need a crib, a big estate, I need a boat and that need a lake, I need some salmon that need a plate, that need a chef so I feed my safe

From trading equities to slanging wine in Latin America

A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what a ship i

I fail to see how anyone

TheKing

(Senior Neanderthal, 5,141

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:38am

I fail to see how anyone reads this and thinks "terrible article" unless they're still in the "jerking off to banking" phase. Obviously take it all with a grain of salt, but there is some truth to all of this. Namely:

--Successful people rarely live linear lives (i.e. there is no true "path" to success; and success is relative)
--Having good friends and doing fun things is more important than padding a bank account
--No matter what, we all meet the same end (game over)

No one is advocating being reckless and stupid, it's just good to have perspective.

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One of the comments left on

Abdel

(Neanderthal, 2,064

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:44am

One of the comments left on the article:

''Find a problem people have and solve it.

Solve that problem quickly and for less cost than others and repeat that capability.

Solve problems consistently enough and your reward will be to do it again tomorrow. Take no piece of business for granted.

Do this, and one day someone may say something nice about you, as they stand over your grave, while your family exercises how best to divide your stuff.''

That's pretty much it.

TheKing: I fail to see how

Faddy

(Baboon, 112

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:46am

TheKing:

No one is advocating being reckless and stupid, it's just good to have perspective.

this. You're not gonna do great worldly things by working in PE making 1mm a year. You're not gonna die any different then anyone else. Don't be blinded by banking.

Fuck it, work in banking and

TheKing

(Senior Neanderthal, 5,141

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:56am

Fuck it, work in banking and PE if you like it. But, realize, that unless you are truly money obsessed to an absurd degree, it's going to be hard to make it far in IB or PE without some level of true satisfaction from the work. Getting to the $1 million payday takes a long time, sustaining that type of income is not easy, and there are only so many spots that pay it. It takes hard fucking work and a ton of sacrifice.

My greater point is that there are so many ways to make money in the world, so don't feel tied to this and don't feel that the money is going to make you super happy. It differs by degree from person to person, but don't get all high and mighty until you've spent some time doing this shit.

Check out my WSO Blog

Alright, I'm switching to

Abdel

(Neanderthal, 2,064

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:58am

Alright, I'm switching to medecine.

10. Don't try to be

go.with.the.flow

(King Kong, 1,109

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 11:58am

10. Don't try to be great.

Best advice to young people. Don't be ambitious just be mediocre so there is one person less in the line to greatness.

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

I don't think he was saying

drexelalum11

(Neanderthal, 3,635

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:18pm

I don't think he was saying "be average," unless you consider Teddy Roosevelt average. "Don't try to be great" doesn't mean "be average" - it means, greatness should not be an objective in and of itself, but the natural result of other objectives. Don't do something because other people will approve - do it because you want to.

madmoney15: Terrible article,

(Almost Human, 9,244

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:19pm

madmoney15:

Don't think Wheelan's saying that. The guy has PhDs from Chicago and Princeton and has written several books.

I thought the same way you did when I was 22. I had visions of starting my own investment bank, of watching wealth grow at 10%+CPI, and huge success in business.

Then a wrinkle or two and a small hint of gray hair crept in. And I realized how short life was, and that my time on this planet was too valuable to be chasing seven figure salaries or to spend time worrying about who can afford which car. Wheelan's point about "don't make the world worse" is a very good one.

I actually do agree with Jerry Rice about goodness being the enemy of greatness. But in 100 years when everything material has turned to dust, when our lives are long gone, goodness gets the last laugh over greatness.

Work hard, play hard.

IlliniProgrammer: But in 100

swagon

(Neanderthal, 2,970

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:28pm

IlliniProgrammer:

But in 100 years when everything material has turned to dust, when our lives are long gone, goodness gets the last laugh over greatness.

dyings 4 foolz

swagon: dyings 4 foolz That's

(Almost Human, 9,244

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:39pm

Work hard, play hard.

I didn't mean it was a

(Orangutan, 325

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:44pm

I took this article as a more

(Neanderthal, 2,156

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:48pm

Reality hits you hard, bro...

IlliniProgrammer: I actually

(Orangutan, 325

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:49pm

#4! Is this really possible

(King Kong, 1,331

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:51pm

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

Overall good list. General

(King Kong, 1,331

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:52pm

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

I think that the older guys

Human

(King Kong, 1,891

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:56pm

"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."

I didn't mean it was a

(Almost Human, 9,244

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 12:56pm

Work hard, play hard.

madmoney15: Does it though?

(Almost Human, 9,244

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:00pm

Work hard, play hard.

streetwannabe: #4! Is this

All American Reject

(Baboon, 105

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:01pm

madmoney15: IlliniProgramme

(Neanderthal, 2,156

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:03pm

Reality hits you hard, bro...

And before the douchebags

(Neanderthal, 2,156

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:03pm

Reality hits you hard, bro...

IlliniProgrammer: I didn't

(King Kong, 1,331

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:04pm

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

Honestly, I'm not in finance

(Orangutan, 325

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:14pm

MMBinNC: The thing is how

(Almost Human, 9,244

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:16pm

Work hard, play hard.

madmoney15: Honestly, I'm not

(King Kong, 1,331

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:19pm

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

IlliniProgrammer: MMBinNC:

(Neanderthal, 2,156

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:24pm

Reality hits you hard, bro...

Human: I think that the older

TheKing

(Senior Neanderthal, 5,141

Points)

on 4/30/12 at 1:47pm

Check out my WSO Blog

This discussion proves why I