Dear My Little Chimp,
Slow down, child. I know you are just starting that BB investment banking job and are looking to move into private equity, or you just started that biz dev role and are studying for the GMAT so you can get into B-school, but first, you have a lot of work to do.
You’re off on a fun adventure, though it may not seem like it every single day. You’re being paid to learn various skills that will continue to make you money and provide a certain level of security for the remainder of your life. You may find some days you’re the ball, but other days you’re the Louisville Slugger. Some days you’re the windshield. Some days you’re the bug. Ride the waves.
If you can last through the late hours, challenging personalities, lack of sleep, and self-inflicted poor nutrition (because, let’s be real, you can choose to eat healthy foods and drink in moderation), many doors will open to you. And these doors are not limited to suit-wearing jobs in New York City. You’re showing the world that you can compete professionally with the big dogs. You’re not in triple-A anymore.
So you want to develop your professional skills, do you? Well the best time to start was yesterday, but don’t expect that tomorrow you’re a God in constructing lbo models and designing proprietary trading algorithms. Do you walk home from your first visit to the gym in months and become furious when you don’t have a six-pack? No, Braverman’s hard body took years to develop. Step by step. So keep up your commitment to personal development, but remember: things take time.
Staying caught in the weeds will only make you frustrated if you’re trying to go fast. The last thing that you, Mr. Future-Hedge-Fund-Manager-of-the-Year, want to do is to change the template of these PPT slides from Sky Blue to Lark Blue. So take a deep breath, and knock that sucker off your to-do list as fast as humanly possible. Learn how to be efficient with the tasks you don’t like to do so you can focus on the big things, the things that matter to you. Keep your head up and your eyes on the prize.
Patience is perhaps your greatest asset that you don’t know you possess in abundance, my little chimp. Know the difference between what you can control and what you cannot. You will amaze yourself by how stoic and even-tempered you will become.
From day one, all your contemporaries will be chirping about their next this, the future that, the upcoming big break. Resist this urge. If you want to move on soon, then take the necessary steps other monkeys have outlined before you, but please, understand that walking slowly is not always a sign of infirmity. In fact, it is a sign of confidence.
Yours truly,
A Monkey That Was Once In Your Shoes
Mod Note (Andy): Throwback Thursday - this post originally went up 9/17/13
Awesome post! Thank you so much for posting this. Enjoyed reading it and I really felt it should be a must read for all college seniors aspiring to work on Wall Street.
+1 SB!
NiuShi - Goes to Asia and turns into Master Shifu. Inner peace
A letter can't get any better than this.
thanks
Amen to that
This is gold!
zen +1
That was what i need. Thanks
This is a Great Post, I just interviewed at JP Morgan and I needed this post; let's see How it Goes!!!
Great post.
Insightful! Good post.
Good post.
Well done!
'Bravermans hard body' lmao
meh
Great posting, I needed to read something like this.
silver banana
Amen
Already in the process of doing that but no I banking job :(. Sucks to be me? Naaa... I wouldnt be that sure (never mind the fact that I made that comment, but details .. what do they have to do in IBanking) if I were you.
even better when drunk.
Thank you for this great post! Inspiring!
Thank you for the reminder. Needed it!
Sincere Thank You.
Your career IS NOT a sprint
Thank you big chimp.
Regards, Little Chimp
Very zen-like......and very true Great post
Great post! Thank you very much!
thanks
love the "hard body" part
Without sounding like a sycophant, I would totally SB this guy if I had any. In any case, great post.
Awesome post really! Inspiring!
"Understand that walking slowly is not always a sign of infirmity. In fact, it is a sign of confidence."
I almost cried reading this post. SB-ed.
+1 thanks so much for the perspective from a chimp about to start
also just beautifully written and beautiful to read (not even joking)
Thanks, this really helps to put things into perspective and remind us all to take our time.
Good stuff!!!
awesome!
great letter, refreshing to hear that im not as far behind career-wise as i thought
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