What is something someone has said to you that has stuck with you forever?
Was it something someone said on their death bed? Something your girlfriend said to you? Got cursed out by your boss? What is it?
"Buy the dip, faggot"
Read something on WSO that actually stuck with me. "An absence of self-confidence is ultimately a presence of high anxiety". Stuck with me because I was struggling with my self-confidence at the time and idk… I was just like "holy shit… that's so true" 😂. Helped me sort of just take a step back and be more holistic as to what was actually causing said anxiety, and that it really was impacting my self-confidence
“Companies are the extended shadows of individuals.”
- Phil Lader, former US Ambassador to the UK
“Grow where you’re planted.”
- Gen. Peter Pace, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blacking out is just your brain clearing it’s browsing history - GSE
Incognito mode :)
“Go back to (the country where you were born)!” - third grade classmate who now cleans one of my buildings. In hindsight his fear was proven correct.
Savage! Fuck those people. Hopefully that humbled him. Honestly, it's funny when people say go back to where you came from like it's no big deal. They act like they are Native Americans who were the true natives. U.S. school history don't do a great job of telling the real story at all. Natives were killed for this piece of land!
pretty based ngl, you should go back where you were born
Funny Ass. I was born here bruh. Where you born?
The most innocent thing a human being can do is exist. I think it was redever who said that on the RE forum and for whatever reason it really just hit me and I’ve remembered it since.
Live as if you were living for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you’re about to act now.
No regrets. No second thoughts. Just get after it. Boss at my first internship said that me on my first day.
[Reeses] appreciate the shout out, but being totally honest.. I don't think I said that. I mean, I like the quote, but I totally don't ever remember using it!
“You exist, and that is the most "not your fault" thing any human can have.”
You did say it, I didn’t quote you exactly though. Lol I guess it was more profound for me than you.
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
“It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” -my dad to me at age 8 when we were moving from overseas back to the states. Little cheesy, but I reflect on it often, when experiencing loss of any form. I suppose the corollary is: “enjoy what you’ve got while you have it, and when it goes, say goodbye and don’t look back with bitterness that it’s gone, but be glad that it happened”
"It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener at war"
This one has been passed around a bit in WSO that has really stuck with me:
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
The time when my old MD told me his walkaway number was $10M, and then 5 years later we met for drinks. He was now worth $15M and his new walkway number was $40M. Find your Enough.
Did you move from Corp Strat back to PE? What caused the move?
His walkaway number increased
Don't be an idiot. Changed my life.
"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky." - Michael Scott
When I was an intern at an investment bank I was very awkward. I was the only intern at a small boutique and everyone else was 2+ years into the job. I felt like the dumbest person in the room and the only person who was making mistakes. I was too young to realize that I shouldnt compare myself to those far more experienced than myself, but I didnt have any other data points. I worked through lunch regularly and missed out on many casual opportunities to hang with the Analysts because I was just so focused on doing a good job. I was just so excited to have made it in the room that all I wanted was to not be a failure.
I was working late one night with an Analyst I was closest with a few months in (this was an extended internship for roughly 9 months) and he looked at me and said, "You know, its ok to just be yourself and relax a little. We know you want to succeed but you can unbutton a little bit too."
This advice changed my life. It helped me become more relaxed in every work environment since then, and in every interview. After I took his advice I started really connecting with my deal teams, and in the years that followed, my % of offers received skyrocketed. Being an insecure little intern I totally forgot to be myself. I tried to be what I thought bankers would want, but in the end I lost my sense of self.
This ties back to one of the most commonly repeated pieces of advice on this site, which is just be yourself. Dont forget how important that is.
Thanks for sharing that! Yeah, this one is super important! I was an awkward type of dude as well in high school and early college so I relate heavy! I realize if we don't be ourselves than what the fuck are we? In the end, it's way more chill and relaxing to give 0 fucks and just be ourselves. It's tiring to put on an act.
easier to be yourself at the top than at the bottom though
old manager shared..."just work on making a little progress everyday"
Always clean up the hair from the sink when you're done shaving. Made my life.
"The leads are weak? You're weak" - Alec Baldwin
Great reminder to stop blaming everything instead of yourself for your lack of success.
"we don't think you have a future in this business"
former boss of mine who now makes 50% of what I make
Fuck that guy. People who say negative shit like that to others to put them down are full of insecurity.
Something like that happened to me as well man. Out of undergrad when I was in a very dark place and needed help. I turned to my school's career office and the guy that I talked to who was the associate director of undergrad career services and he ghosted me and blocked me on linkedin. That got me so mad, no word can explain how furious I was. That was the moment I realize my future and what I wanted to do is in my own hands. Fuck the naysayers and these insecure, incompetent, salary sucking tools like him.
It's a fucking shame that guy did what he did. His only job was to help students with career advice and recruiting, but he turned my ass down just cause I was struggling and in a dark place. He had no empathy at all. He made me realize there are so many incompetent dumbasses in all walks of life.
Update: I just look that fucker up and seems like he's no longer associate director he's just another advisor now. Pathetic guy!
doesn't matter, but it was a gal, not a guy.
I'm grateful that even in my rage, I decided to take that as a free pass to recruit for better opps, and I'm glad I did. it's easy to feel spite, but as long as you have a bias for action and forward thinking rather than dwelling, you'll be aight
thebrofessor Out of curiosity what's the significance of your profile picture on WSO? Is that Greg Popovich? Any chance you a fan of "the professor" famous basketball street legend?
“Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good”
baseball quote but pretty applicable to life
Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights. Ronnie Coleman
I don't know if you're posting this as a troll but I find myself either actually saying this phrase to people or saying it in my head quite often. I work in a job that everyone wants and thinks is "cool" and thinks they can do it, but I have yet to meet people who are actually willing to put in the work. When I explain this to others I usually bust out this quote - it's a very true statement by The King.
Not sure why you would think I am trolling, its a quote that gets to the point. People want the prize without putting in the work, especially in the era of participation trophies.
applicable to other things, like entrepreneurship, or having jobs people think are cool (ex: working for ESPN)
That's a real quote! Everyone wants to live lavish, but no one wants to work. Everyone wants a lambo or a rolex watch, but when it comes down to work no one wants to do it. Everyone wants to flex on instagram, but in reality insecurity is at an all-time high. Real ballers never have to flex. Real ballers look like warren buffet.
Dude eats mcdonald's breakfast everyday while wearing fricken nike monarch dad shoes! LOL! That's a true baller! Fuck with Warren Buffet!
"It is normal to sink before you can swim, life will get worse before it gets better".
I have read the paper saying this 2-3 months after having started my internship, and it just resonated in me as I remembered how I thought in the beginning I would never be able to deliver and that I was a fraud and how I was starting to master my work and become a real value addition to the team with time. So from now, I do not have that fear anymore of trying a new thing, starting a new role or just learning something new, I accept the fact that I may be lame at the start, but eventually someday with perseverance I will be a boss at it.
Works with life too, great days would not be enjoyable without bad days so when bad days come, I just know that they are meant to be and it is only temporary.
I had a high school teacher that would always tell us, "It doesn't matter what college you go to, don't pressure yourself over that. Just make sure you do three things - get a 4-year degree and while you're there learn to use critical thinking skills and learn how to write". That has stuck with me and I have yet to see that guy proven wrong. I have met grads from HYP that can't write to save their lives and I have hired from bottom schools because the person can think on their feet. Being able to express yourself in written form is so important in life and has definitely helped me.
I'm glad you feel that way because most people wouldn't bat an eye on a kid who came from some no name school. HYPS are top dog schools. The sky is the limit for those kids, but not all of them have drive like some broke kid who grew up having nothing.
Most kids from no name schools don't have the same opportunities as those who went to a top school. The very few who made it had to bust their ass. That's part of life, it is what it is. To think life is fair is the stupidest thing anyone can believe in. Life ain't fair, but it's alright.
My teachers would be like work hard, strive, have good work ethic, but honestly that only takes you so far. Connections matter! Having someone believe in you matter! Fuck work ethic and working hard when you don't even have the opportunity to prove yourself. Lower class kids growing up broke simply don't have many opportunities to make it so a lot of them stay where they came from. It's a part of life.
A lot of people sell themselves short as well. If someone wants something it can be possible and it can be done. No word can explain how important it is to believe in yourself. A lot of kids from lower class backgrounds don't have that vision nor the belief in themselves to make it. It's hard to make it, but it's not impossible because others are doing what you want in life. They made it and so can you.
A lot of people I know growing up got fucked up by messing with the wrong people and getting themselves into the pitfalls of life. Gangs, drugs, dropping out of school. Many of them came from broken homes and they grew up on the streets doing street stuff. It's sad! If only they knew how much potential they had. They threw it all away...
"We are pleased to inform you..." will never forget that call.
"Don't be lazy" My father to me after my first kid was born. It's the simplest advice and can apply to so many situations. I keep it in the back of my head all the time, especially when my kids are running around and want to play and I just want to relax on the couch and look at my phone after a long day.
"this too shall pass" very generic but i keep it in mind during tough times
"I want to ride in your cab with you" My future wife to me. that was the moment I knew she liked me and i'll never forget that feeling.
"Do It NOW!" Arnold to the Predator.
"I have spent the last 5 years working on clinical trials and man, you can't trust any of them. The data can be manipulated any way you want to get an outcome." Paraphrasing my friend talking about the pandemic "science".
"Everything is going to be okay."
In the context of self-confidence, it's huge. Call that girl; dance with your friends; sing some karaoke. Just do it. You're going to be okay. For some reason, just that little self- reminder is always huge for me.
One of my MDs said that you should "Have strong opinions loosely held" and that has helped me tremendously as I've developed as a young professional. The ability to be seen as believable but take your stance when incorrect is crazy helpful. Thanks Dan.
"Life is one long series of problems to solve. The more you solve, the better a man you become."
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