Particularly for those working in highly demanding jobs: what drives you? What motivates you to work long hours and sacrifice free time to get ahead in your career?
I’m asking this because I realized I simply don’t have the drive that I see in some friends who pursue IB/PE/big law. The first time I experienced a 70-hour week (very rare in my job), I was blown away by how physically and mentally taxing it was. Seriously, how do you guys do this repeatedly?
I know people will say it’s the money, and while this may be true for some people, I don’t think it’s true for most. In my experience it has diminishing returns, and once you have enough to feel financially secure it stops being a major motivator and you look for fulfillment elsewhere.
I simply enjoy the pain :) Oh yes, whip me with that "pls fix" at 3am, EBITDAddy 0w0!
Short term sacrifice for the long term fulfillment of whatver our goals are. Money. Time. Prestige. Etc
It also feels good to be at the top of your game and keep succeeding/progressing. So you chase that feeling
As long as I can get a 1hour workout on a daily basis I'm happy, yes I work 70+ hours consistently, but I love my team, I like my work and the money is quite fucking good for how young I am.
Cliche but it's about enjoying what you actually do and your industry (but mostly what you do). Money can only be a driver for so much. Once you have enough (to do what you want) the human brain takes over and says "I'm good, not going to do this or that...". So the motivation has to come from somewhere else.
You have to love the game and that love has to be greater than the pain. If not, you'll flame out at some point.
I don't want to tell someone that I work hard, get paid mad stacks, and spend without consequences. THEY ALREADY KNOW. And THAT is motivating.
Imagine the "so what do you even do" guy at the dinner party. Don't be that guy.
Also grew up super poor (think, Little House on the Prairie) and all I knew growing up was to not put my kids in that level of poverty. Accidentally saw my dad's paycheck while I was an intern, and mine was almost double.
Preferably John Thain's limo driver in a Maybach.
Short answer is money
But mainly cause I grew up in a situation that can be summarized as:
immigrant parents > poor > currently middle class
So not only do I want to take care of the fam as they get older but any amount of grind I do put into my career is probably half of what my parents put in to get to where they are now, especially considering I’m making multiples of what they did in a relatively cushy job.
To be able to be a nationally known power broker, genuinely help people, the money, and have my own firm. Those are my goals. That is what drives me.
Someone has to pay for the for the opera and the wine, too.
Interest in what I do, wealth that can come from it.
I’m more like my 10 year old self than my 15 year old self. When I was a kid I idolized Edison and Tesla and was really into electrical circuits. When I reached high school I was really depressed and slept a lot, got injured, medicine made me sleep more, intro to alcohol to cope with sadness, slacked off from class, and then graduation came up like the edge of a waterfall. College was more or less the same, only I actually made a bit of money by working my ass off but still slacking in classes. And my metabolism no longer kept me thin with eating burgers and drinking all the time.
In a rare and (I think) once in a lifetime chain of events and circumstances, I’ve had the opportunity to hit the reset button. I’ve dropped over 50 lbs since college, found a career I’m genuinely interested in, and love learning about it. There’s an infinite number of things I can learn, which presents its own challenges in of itself. But the ability to create things on the side is really fun, it makes me feel that same sense of wonder I used to feel.
Plus, the money is good. That always helps with motivation.
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