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Life after Investment Banking. Like a majority of people who are on this website, I used to come on here and write bullshit about a life partly my own, partly fantasy. I'm now going to uncloak the anonymous man and tell you my story. My name is Stephen Ridley. I graduated from a top tier British University with a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2010 and went straight into IBD at a top tier European Investment Bank, after interning there in 2009. I worked in the top team (on a revenue basis) for 16 months, before quitting in October 2011. Banking is fucking brutal. The reality of banking is this. Though I managed to maintain relationships with certain friends (testament to how good these friends were), I never was really 'there' and never really relaxed to enjoy their company, I was either pre-occupied, exhausted, or too self-centred to really have a 2 way conversation.

I personally did not find the work interesting, and that placed me in the 95% majority. Eventually I snapped. The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget. “Great moments often catch us unawares….” By Kent Nerburn There was a time in my life twenty years ago when I was driving a cab for a living. It was a cowboy’s life, a gambler’s life, a life for someone who wanted no boss, constant movement and the thrill of a dice roll every time a new passenger got into the cab. What I didn’t count on when I took the job was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a rolling confessional. Passengers would climb in, sit behind me in total anonymity and tell me of their lives. We were like strangers on a train, the passengers and I, hurtling through the night, revealing intimacies we would never have dreamed of sharing during the brighter light of day. And none of those lives touched me more than that of a woman I picked up late on a warm August night.

I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. So I walked to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” answered a frail and elderly voice. 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed. Having been a non-employee for about 14 years now, I’ve made my share of stupid business mistakes. I’ve also coached a number of people to start their own businesses, and I’ve seen many of them make similar mistakes. This advice is geared towards small business owners, particularly people who are just starting (or about to start) their own business. 1.

Selling to the wrong people. While sales are important to the survival of any business, you don’t need to push your business on everyone you meet, including friends and family. Furthermore, it’s a waste of time to try selling to people who simply don’t need what you’re offering. Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone. Just because someone is interested in doing business with you doesn’t mean you should accept. 2. Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary. 3.

It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash. 4. 5. 6. 7. I’ll say it again. RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. The 10 Commandments of Wealth and Happiness. I’m now financially independent. I didn’t get this way overnight, nor did I do it by selling books or advice. I did it the same way you can: one paycheck at a time over many years. One of my young staffers recently asked if I could condense everything I’ve learned into 10 simple ideas that would serve as a guide to those starting out, starting over, or maybe beginning to realize they’re not where they’d like to be. While certainly a challenge, it’s a worthy one. So here goes: the 10 commandments of achieving financial independence and being happier while you do it … 1. The ease of making money in stocks, real estate, or other risk-based assets is inversely proportional to your time horizon. Money is like a tree: Plant it properly, care for it occasionally - but not obsessively - then wait.

Stare at a newly planted tree for 24 hours and you’ll be convinced it’s not growing. The biggest winner in my IRA is Apple. Patience is certainly a virtue when it comes to investing. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Everything I Needed to Know About Money I Learned From My Mom. Over the last 30 years, I’ve read and written countless stories on money: making it, saving it, investing it, avoiding taxes on it, and using it for everything from buying a house to funding a retirement. So I guess I’ve earned the label of financial “expert.” But as Mother’s Day approaches, it occurs to me that when it comes to establishing sound money management habits, it’s moms that are the masters. Check out the following video: To produce it, we simply took a few soundbites from moms we’ve interviewed over the last year or two.

See if you hear similar stuff from your mom… Now let’s sum up what those moms said, and I’ll add a little more I learned from mine. Pinch your pennies. For many moms, paying more than you have to for anything isn’t just unwise. One of my earliest shopping memories: I’m about 6 years old, standing in the checkout line behind my mom. When we’re young, we think they’re cheapskates. Put something aside. Neither of my parents ever made much money. Like this post? 21 Ways Rich People Think Differently. World's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune. What if she has a point? Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality. "[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money. " Flickr / C. "The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," Siebold writes. That's why there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities. 2. "The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. Getty Images3. 4. I Love Lucy screencap5. 6. 7. 8. 10. I Will Teach you to Be Rich. How to Become a Millionaire: 6 Methods.

Edit Article The mindsetYour health and staminaThe actionsActive decisions for passive income sourcesBlue moon opportunitiesWhat next Edited by Sharonda, Ben Rubenstein, Travis Derouin, Howarthe and 124 others Many people aspire to being a millionaire but not so many people are pushing their self hard to reach that particular goal. In a world where being a billionaire is now the new target for the rich, becoming a millionaire is a real possibility for many an average Joe and it mostly comes down to good management, sensible thinking and occasional calculated risks. Becoming a millionaire won't happen simply by sitting there and praying for money or entering the lottery every week and it won't happen by simply reading how to make it happen – after learning what tools to use and mindset to adopt, the rest of the real effort is up to you actually doing something to achieve this goal.

Ad Steps Method 1 of 6: The mindset 1Believe in the goal of becoming a millionaire. Method 3 of 6: The actions. How to Become a Millionaire - The Top 5 Tips. Anyone Can Become a Millionaire by Following a Few Simple Steps Becoming a millionaire isn’t all that difficult and there are countless ways to achieve that milestone. Some people do it through real estate, others start their own business, while some simply get lucky by winning the lottery or winning big on a game show. What is even more interesting is that you don’t have to be wealthy to begin with nor do you have to earn six figures to reach this goal. I know some people who earn well over $100,000 and all they have to show for it is a large mortgage payment and a fancy car that depreciates faster than a glass of milk left outside in the summer sun. Anyone can become a millionaire and there are five things you need to do to have the best shot of making that a reality. 1.

Clearly, the more money you make, the faster you can reach that milestone, but that doesn’t mean your average Joe with a average income can’t obtain millionaire status. 2. Ok, so you have income but now what? 3. 4. 5. Taking Action. AskMen Editors Share on Facebook Share on Twitter If you pay attention, you learn something from taking a smart step. More often than not, it gets you close to what you want. This is an excerpt from Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future. Note that "Creaction" is a word the authors made up by combining "creation" with "action.

" What exactly is Creaction? Here’s one way to think about that pivotal difference. Thinking is often a part of creating, but without action, nothing is created. How does Creaction play out in practice? 1. 2. . • Act quickly with the means at hand — i.e. what you know, who you know, and anything else that’s available. . • Stay within your acceptable loss. . • Bring others along to acquire more resources; spread the risk, and confirm the quality of your idea. 3. In other words, when facing the unknown, act your way into the future that you desire; don’t think your way into it. Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press. The Best Advice Page 11. 50 Life Secrets and Tips | High Existence - StumbleUpon.

Memorize something everyday.Not only will this leave your brain sharp and your memory functioning, you will also have a huge library of quotes to bust out at any moment. Poetry, sayings and philosophies are your best options.Constantly try to reduce your attachment to possessions.Those who are heavy-set with material desires will have a lot of trouble when their things are taken away from them or lost. Possessions do end up owning you, not the other way around. Become a person of minimal needs and you will be much more content.Develop an endless curiosity about this world.Become an explorer and view the world as your jungle. Stop and observe all of the little things as completely unique events. Try new things. Get out of your comfort zone and try to experience as many different environments and sensations as possible.

This world has so much to offer, so why not take advantage of it? Learn a Language in 10 Days - Language Learning CDs | Pimsleur Approach™ 7 Tips on Fighting Off a Cold. True, the common cold is highly contagious—spurred by more than 100 viruses that are spread when inhaled or picked up from tainted surfaces and rubbed into an eye or the mouth or a nostril.

But beyond frequent hand washing, there are a number of ways that people can raise their immunity: 1. Catch more zzzz's. A study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms what Mom has been saying all along: You need more sleep. "That's the really striking issue in this study," says Sheldon Cohen, the Carnegie Mellon University professor of psychology who led the new research, "that even relatively small disturbances in your sleep have a pretty big impact on your susceptibility to getting a cold. " [Sleep Deprived? 2. 3. 4. [Chill-Proofing Your Exercise Routine for Winter] 5. [Can Alternative Remedies Prevent Swine Flu?] 6. 9 Tactics for Rapid Learning (That Most People Have Never Heard Of) &... - StumbleUpon.

Whenever the subject of why some people learn faster comes up, I get a whole host of common answers: Some people are just naturally smart. (Often implying you can’t improve)Everyone is “smart” in their own way. (Nonsense, research indicates different “intelligences” often correlate)IQ is all in the genes. (Except IQ changes with age and IQ tests can be studied for, like any other test) There may be some truth to these claims.

But, I don’t believe that means that average learners are doomed to mediocrity. I’ve met and heard of many people who went from middle to spectacular students after changing their learning habits and finding motivation. Considering the upcoming launch of my rapid learning program, I wanted to share my favorite tactics to learn faster, retain information better or just enjoy the process of learning more: #1 – Pegging (or How Mental Magicians can Perfectly Recall Hundreds of Numbers) One of my favorite learning tactics, that is rarely mentioned, is pegging. 30 Days, 30 Ways to Build Better Self Confidence - iVillage - StumbleUpon.

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself - StumbleUpon. Mental Heuristics Page. A heuristic is a "rule-of-thumb", advice that helps an AI program or human think and act more efficiently by directing thinking in an useful direction. Some of these heuristics are age-old wisdom, bordering on cliche, but most are actually helpful. If you want something done, do it yourself Comment: Obviously true, and doing it is usually very good for your self esteem. A surprising amount of work can be done this way, and experts are not always necessary. Never procrastinate anything you can do right now Comment: Very powerful.

When you have several things you could be doing and don't know which to do: Just do any one of them! Comments: If you cannot decide between two or more possibilities, then there is a good chance that the differences don't matter. Always assume that you will succeed If you can't find a solution, change the rules. Comment: Remember that there are no no-win scenarios. If you cannot do anything about something, there is no point in worrying about it. Anders Main Page. LOOK AT YOURSELF AFTER WATCHING THIS.mp4 - StumbleUpon. Impact Bias/ Empathy Gap. 5 Things to Do Every Day for Success | Fast Company - StumbleUpon. Fast Company wants you to have your best year yet in 2012; click for more advice and tips on how to work smarter, manage your career, and lead a more meaningful life.

"You get up at what time? " I hear that a lot, along with "You are so lucky. " So, I'm going to help out here and let you in on the secrets of my success. Well, not all of them--but enough to show you the foundation I build on every day. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A simple yet highly effective list. Looking for more advice to rev up your career?