How did your younger years impact the you now?

1. I have to consistently work on getting more disciplined every year. Discipline was lacking in my childhood due to my parents laissez faire parenting style. This has seriously hampered my efficiency as both a student and as a young professional. I can't emphasize the importance enough of staying disciplined and incrementally working on goals.

2. My kids will learn the importance of discipline. I would like to expose them to Eastern discipline where I think the priorities are better aligned with success as a professional.

3. No.

1. I grew up picking up and doing many hobbies (music, sports, video games, chess). My issue, which is still a bit of an issue today, is that I tend to approach a new activity with a new obsessive fervor if I'm interested, but I wouldn't give it the time of day if I ever found it boring. This always led to me putting myself a gradient or two below where I probably could have been had I applied myself more, which I wish I had done so. (ex. doing just enough to graduate with a 3.7/3.8 in high school but not really putting in the time to do better; doing well in some topics but just blowing off others which drew down my grades at a given time or another). I think banking and consulting broadly teach you valuable life lessons in that you are expected to provide exceptional work product, which means you can't blow off tasks just because. For me this was probably one of the more underappreciated benefits from banking.

2. I'm certainly not a parent, but I don't think I'd do anything significantly different. The only thing I'd probably advise my potential child is that you should put your best foot forward and try to achieve superlative marks in anything you do, even if you aren't a fan of what it is you're doing. There is virtue in doing something despite not having a clear passion for it, because it only makes you that much more adept when you approach tasks and activities for which you have a vested interest

3. I was in middle school around the time of the crisis and aftermath with the recession. It wasn't so much the markets themselves that were interesting to me but the dynamics and shifts happening. It was probably more academic in nature than practical, but that part of the economy was always intriguing to me. Perhaps it was because I always used to win at monopoly when I was younger ;P.

I spent my childhood doing practically whatever I wanted. My mom died when I was young, and my dad was supportive, but usually busy running his company, so I had a lot of freedom at a pretty young age. We owned a lot of acreage in the suburbs, and I fondly remember riding bicycles with my friends and exploring every nook and cranny of our suburbia, and sometimes the city. It was a lot of fun, and I still fondly look back on those memories. I feel like some would frown upon my dad's parenting style, but it was pretty good for me. I became really independent at a young age, way more independent than a lot of kids, and become a reflective, thoughtful person who worked towards his goals, whereas a lot of other people my age, when I was a kid, were lost without their parents' guidance. I can't say for sure, but I think in the back of my mind, when I was younger, I always felt a little envious, or just different, than most other people who had more normal families, and for some reason this spurred me to work a little harder. Also, I've always been, even if compliant, fairly cynical of authority figures, and I would imagine that this probably has something to do with my upbringing.

Although I am still in high school, I believe I've experienced most of my formative years, so here's my two cents:

1. People, for some reason, have always hated me, so I struggled a bit in my early years with the fact I didn't have friends. However, I soon realized I couldn't do anything about it, and adopted a "you don't fire me, I quit" approach. Many people say that's bad, but it actually helped me a lot because I started working independently of the acceptance of people. My mom, who suffered a lot with friendships when she was my age, helped me realize the problem wasn't with me, and I just had to be myself. To fill in the blank left by social interaction with kids my age I started reading a lot, about all kinds of things, and talked with all sorts of people, even with my mom's colleagues (most of them had PhDs). That also gave me a lot of confidence, and the idea that I could fit in anywhere I wanted. Those things made me realize I had no reason to be insecure, as long as I kept being interesting, curious, and disciplined.

2. No kids whatsoever, therefore, no comment.

3. I think so. One day, I was at home on the computer when I read on Bloomberg (yeah, I was a boring kid) that there was a huge loss in the stock market, so I started following the news. I loved the way change could happen so fast, and from that day on became a finance junkie. So, yes, at least the decision to work in finance was during my young years.

1. My dad taught me hard work. We grew up comfortably middle class, but things weren't easy for my parents. My dad worked his ass off and never let me quit anything I started. I think this taught me that I could persevere through things and to do this day I generally outwork people to get things I value.

2. My kids lives are different, but priorities are the same (although they're just toddlers and babys). We are more comfortable and I will definitely prioritize travel and seeing other cultures, which is a luxury I didnt have as a child. That being said, I expect discipline and hard work out of my kids. They can choose anything they want to do (sports, chess, drama, etc...) and I will support the hell out of them, but I expect a good effort.

I'm probably a little bit less of a disciplinarian as my dad was, but I'm hoping for a similar household with a lot of love and support.

3. I have no idea.

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1.) Don't blindly follow the crowd with fashion/ life advice learn to think independent. Bowl cuts were not a good look

2.) Fingers crossed no one has knocked on my door on Father's day yet.

3.) yeah

Discipline, discipline, discipline. I second what the earlier poster said. It is so important. I have been gradually applying discipline to every area of my life. It is true what they say in regard to discipline setting you free. It is the most straightforward way to achieve your goals. I learned this in adulthood - I wish that I had realized earlier on the degree to which discipline dwarfs other characteristics in importance.

It's a funny thing reflecting on my attitude towards work and success in my younger years... even just two to three years ago.

Personally, I had absolutely zero plans to go the corporate route, and at the time I had a need for achievement that is probably on par with most high school and college students. Such is the way of 100% of my family members.

In high school I passed on the decision to move to the city and study at a prestigious university, in favour of a tiny party university. Even in university, my immediate plans following graduation were to save up and go travel the world, backpacking for several years.

After being introduced to a few inspirational alumni who started their own boutiques, and HFs, and eventually went on to mentor me, I pulled a 180, and chose to really focus on the work, becoming competitive about academics and whatnot....

Funny how such firm attitudes can be changed with a little inspiration.