Hi,
whenever I try to boost my discipline by watching motivational videos about the people I admire, there is especially one topic that remains in my head - passion. They all describe their, in some way obsessive, passion about what they do and repeatedly cite this as one of the keys to their success.
Are you guys passionate about your work?
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Definitely, Finance basically saved my life. I was extremely depressed because of a personal failure on a flight a few years ago. Started watching a movie called 'Wizard of Lies' about the life of Bernie Madoff. Having nothing to do and no reason to live, I started reading 10-K fillings, followed M&A deals, and learned how to do financial analysis. The work became my obsession and brought joy back to my life. Hope you find yours, Cheers!
Do you do Finance as a side gig, or are you working for a company?
Working on CFA Level 2. I work as an analyst for an RE investment firm; at the same time i manage a sizable portfolio of family money. Hoping to get to BB in the next 2 years.
A couple follow ups:
what about wizard of lies got you into finance and reading 10ks? Haven't seen it myself but sounds like I should,
what do you mean by personal failure on a flight? Would love to hear more if you are willing to elaborate.
I would not disclose my failure since it is irrelevant to the topic at hand. As a kid, I always had a fascination with the financial market. The movie reminded me of how much I liked finance. Plus the self-inflicted damage cause by Bernie Madoff made the movie relatable
Definitely passionate. I love learning and I love showing others how to inform themselves, not just hand over data [when they are willing and interested in learning how to do something for themselves].
I stress reading to all my nieces, nephews and god-children, even if it's comic books and graphic novels, but I encourage them always to look things up and also always to ask questions. Maybe it sounds corny, but reading is truly fundamental and can open lots of doors.
Currently I am preparing for my first M&A internship at the end of the year. And every hour of me sitting at my desk feels uncomfortable. I experienced the same throughout my undergraduate degree - I always had to force myself and still am not sure if its me having a lack of discipline or if its just not the right path for me. Has your passion been there from the beginning, or is that something that grows over time?
Passion is described as uncontrollable emotion. So unless something happens along the way to your emotional perception, I would think passion is something that starts from the beginning. It’s not something that’s learned.
You could learn the discipline to just bite your teeth and get through things. But you may never really have a passion for it. I’m sure there are plenty of older people who lived their lives never having found their passions.
‘uncontrollable’?
not exactly
pas·sion /ˈpaSHən/ Learn to pronounce noun noun: passion; plural noun: passions; noun: Passion; noun: the Passion 1. strong and barely controllable emotion. "a man of impetuous passion" a state or outburst of strong emotion. "oratory in which he gradually works himself up into a passion" synonyms: rage, blind rage, fit of rage/anger/temper, temper, towering rage, outburst of anger, tantrum, fury, frenzy, paroxysm, fever; More informalpaddy; informalwax, bate, paddywhack "he gradually worked himself up into a passion" intense sexual love. "their all-consuming passion for each other" synonyms: love, desire, sexual love, sexual desire, lust, ardor, hunger, yearning, longing, craving, adoration, infatuation, lasciviousness, lustfulness; More amour fou; rareconcupiscence, nympholepsy "Roman's deep voice was husky with passion" an intense desire or enthusiasm for something. "the English have a passion for gardens" synonyms: fervor, ardor, intensity, enthusiasm, eagerness, zeal, zealousness, vehemence, vigor, avidity, avidness, feeling, emotion, fire, heat, fieriness, fierceness, excitement, energy, animation, gusto, zest, zestfulness, spirit, spiritedness, commitment, fanaticism, violence; More rarefervency, ardency, passionateness "the passion with which voters attach themselves to a particular political party" enthusiasm, love, mania, keen interest, fascination, obsession, fanaticism, fixation, predilection, compulsion, appetite, relish, partiality, liking, interest, weakness, penchant, addiction, fondness; informalthing, yen; rareappetency "his passion for football" antonyms: indifference, apathy a thing arousing enthusiasm. "modern furniture is a particular passion of Bill's" synonyms: obsession, preoccupation, craze, mania, rage, hobby horse "English literature is something of a passion with me"
Most probably yes. There were, and there still are, moments of despair because I manage to pull off some dumb mistake, but in a matter of few days I am ready to rumble again. I do not think that I would have gone through so much crap - personal/firm-induced - and still be trading if I did not have passion for it.
The other side of the coin is that I can also evaluate how it has developed me as a person over the last few years and appreciate the journey in itself. Even if I never become a "market wizard" I doubt that there is any other job in the world that could give me this much in terms of getting to know myself, improving and pushing limits in terms of mental resilience.
Yes. Everything is so boring. I love risking large amounts of my personal net worth too because it makes things that much more stimulating.
I bet you like some freaky shit in bed
Absolutely love it. I don't think I could do 18 hours days in any other field. The freedom it gives is unmatched.
My personal motto is: "I love my job, but I'll always love my family even more"
Yes, I enjoy my work but there are so many more things in this world to be passionate about than just work.
I sometimes think that we have an unhealthy obsession in the U.S. with elevating work to some end all be all and boastfully talk about never wanting to retire. Work can be enjoyable but so is so much more out there.
I find my work titillating. In terms of motivation, for anyone who uses this photo sharing app called "Instagram" - I highly recommend @AgentSteven for pick me ups on the journey.
Very much so. It's what brought me to real estate.
Same. Real estate consumes a majority of my life because I make it that way.
If you're not passionate, it's tough to work hard enough to reach the top. Gotta enjoy the journey
Not at all. I work because I have to.
Hell no I'm not passionate about my career. But I'm damned grateful for it. I get paid really well to do work that's partially interesting and requires no physical demands. I'm absurdly blessed. I'll leave the arguments about "passion" for the high school kids and motivational speakers.
I love every single minute being on the trading floor. In brief, I am currently a vol trader and do a bit of the analyst work as well (building econometric models, coming up with trade ideas, and etc). Although, my day starts a bit earlier (4am), the passion is there and I wouldn't change my current profession for anything else. Next, I guess it was also the process that led me here. Came from a non-target background with no relevant summer internships. After graduation, I was unemployed for half a year until I joined a boutique firm as a FI underwriter. After being there for couple months, the work became dull and I no longer feel motivated to come in. Thus, I started applying and successfully made the transition to a hedge fund.
I describe this passion as "Unique Ability". Not unique as in no one else has it but internally unique to your other abilities and I define it this way. For something to be considered a unique ability it must have four characterisitics:
When you find something professionally that fits that description, run with it. The money will follow.
As an example, my unique ability is transforming a clients fear and confusion into confidence and clarity. I could do that all day. The days I do are WAY better than the days I'm stuck working on BS. Oh, and the money doesn't suck either.
Just starting out and definitely not passionate although I knew I wasn't from the beginning. Couldn't care less about money so that motivation isn't really there (not that you make much as an analyst anyway). I got into finance because I found it somewhat interesting. It was the first academic discipline that I didn't hate, but I certainly don't love it. If I could support myself doing whatever I want I'd write philosophy or start a company any day. Actually hoped going into banking would help me do the second but now I wonder if I shouldn't have just gone and done that from the beginning!
The passion thing is a meme dude. Most "passion" comes from two things:
Having good ability to excel at a particular field. Think about fit, IQ, personality or skills.
That same field allows you to achieve the results you want, be it impact, money, lifestyle, etc.
For example, when Trump talks his BS about passion what he is actually saying is that he has the skills to lead and negotiate deals since he was young; and that his job allows him to have the massive impact and power he wants.
unfortunately not. it's somewhat interesting work but my hearts not in it, especially after having kids, but as someone else stated, i'm very grateful for the financial stability that it's given me and hope things can keep going for a few more years and then find something i'm more passionate about.
Of course, I believe that work should always be enjoyable. Not so long ago, he opened a company and is now actively engaged in its development. Who else has their own business? How do you track incoming calls? I can recommend you a proven service with which you can easily track and listen to incoming calls of your company. I did not think that calling tracking is such a useful tool, I am pleased that my company still remains afloat.
fuck no
I work to live, I do not live to work. Am I passionate about finance/ business? Yes. Am I passionate about this job specifically? No.
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