There is always a question in my mind: How these CEOs or important politicians made their ways up to where they are now?
They are either standing on the stage addressing policies to the public/world, or sitting behind the desk making decisions that would swing company's share price after all.
But how they've risen to their current status?
There is also one easy answer to the very simple but popular question: most of them are inherited to receive the great fortunes and the well-run businesses! Such logic is unarguably correct in some stances, and usually stops me to study the myths.
Besides the business/technology creators who started their dreams with the help of family's supports, monetarily...
People who climbed their ways up to become a CEO or a nation's leader out of ordinary backgrounds, they are indeed providing more interesting learning materials for me to study further, in case I would want to follow their paths one day when I wake up in the morning and say to myself, "This is very bad to just live in a repeating cycle without knowing my real abilities, and passing this philosophy to my offsprings."
I doubt if I have any gifts from God; I was so thrilled that I even doubt if I have the persistency to find out my gifts and turn them into my abilities then reality.
But at least I have tried to pursue my dreams.
As a white-collar worker in the finance/investment sector who earned his degrees in the finance/investment area during his most happiest years in life, a highly-regarded financier (fund manager/deal maker...etc.) is deemed to be his final destination as the most practitioners in the industry.
Even you will not become an investment guru in your late years, you will be likely to make your living and fortune from your profession with buy-low-sell-high techniques day after day.
Being a highly-regarded one such as "star analyst", "star fund manager (hedge fund?)", "star banker/broker" in the industry is a bonus. Making money is the top priority, while making publicity is not to most of us.
I've seen so many colleagues earned their CFAs so hard. The moment of obtaining the qualification is so good and rewardful which I can imagine, after spending multi-years of self-study with a minimal standard of social life. Pay rise and acclaims follow at the company.
At first they were happy with their hard work and pay rise, of course the recognition of the industry practitioners. Joining an elite club always prove your status within the particular circle, this is why MBA and CFA attract people. Since you gained your recognition your pride tends to enlarge that drives your self-esteem further up.
As others quote, they are the tickets to getting succuessful in the profession. Without them, your growth prospect is capped by organic growth. In order words, experience is not the fast track as this needs to be proved in a given period by observation, while qualifications will be recognized within a blinking second.
And most importantly, no question asked...
Suddenly our environment was hit by waves of crisis due to many bursts of many bubbles in many sectors, causing millions of job loss at so many companies, needless to mention the evaporation of many mega companies. Elites are no more valuable in the dampening industry that seeing companies closing down operations, cutting jobs at different levels. Human resource has transformed into waste from company's asset during the hard time.
How does it feel when the sense of insecurity hits the nerves?
I've also seen many colleagues managing their private wealth at work, mostly in the form of investing, or to be precise, stock trading and speculating. I don't really into this kind of activities not because I am too loyal to my work, just because I don't think you can making a fortune out of them. You may be able to make a living given you have a persistant trading pattern to earn a margin between trades in a very disciplinary behaviour.
To survive in the game, you either need to be so visionary that knowing where to plant your seeds and harvest the corps later, or you have developed a very patient character and a disciplined style to round up the thin margins earned.
What I've seen including from myself were too many in-and-outs but end up with nothing except the precious sad experience. But people hardly earned from their experience, where rational at planning becomes irrational at action again and again.
You make few thousand dollars today won't make you any closer to millionaire. It is a simple math that the lucky one will buy him a low/middle-grade of tailor made suit, or buy his girlfriend a nice handbag, leaving him half of the winnings. How does this money make you wealthier in long term?
What if people save the winnings and grow the base for the next trades? This is right in financial mathematics which compound effect is usually taught at the first lesson in schools. To earn this merit you have to be persistantly right on your bets, and find a shelter before the storms come and wipe out everything you've earned over the years.
You always know a way to spend money and it is no difference between spending thousands and spending hundred thousands in HK, the latter requires no special skill. While making hundred thousands for ordinary people is a different story, and involves different skills in order to reach this.
However, very sad that making big money comes with a common byproduct, you will upgrade your living standard too. Fine dinings, fine wines, luxurious apartments, sport cars, there are just too many places for you to deploy your salary. They are the ture destinations for most of the white-collar workers in the aircondioned offices, who are striving to succeed.
I blame my laziness for not being a hard worker. When laziness kicks in (everyday, so it is a chronic one...) and stops me from doing what is supposed to be done, I will throw my hands in the air and leaving the CFA study materials on desk untouched for weeks.
At some points I've utilised companies' resources to aid my personal investment activities in the earlier years. Motivation behind this is complicated, but largely involved low pay, retire early and practical experience.
After have been misled by the finance textbooks and mentally-distorted by successufl stories, I have found a perfect lifelong partner for my laziness and was going to pass it onto others, grow your wealth by investments.
But luckily after a number of trial-and-error, learning my wealth doesn't grow as I expected and seeing others are tight up with their investings but not gaining them anything they want. I then realised that investing cannot be my full-time career, not only lack of the killer's instinct which good traders possess, also my ability to persistently play the game right.
What I can offer to myself is patience, watch the wealth grow by someone helps me managing them such as other fund managers and companies' managements.
No point to make a few winnings today and lose even more tomorrow. If you are lucky enough you may make an annualised return of twentyish percent like Warren Buffet does, if not, you may still break-even in the end. But most of the time people are trading in the loss zone, the saddest thing is they used up too much of time on this.
To be honest, when you are tight up with your investments which you are not willing to liquidate them at losses, you often know your level or patience (or stubborn).
I knew I am not that into a career in finance when I just landed my current job. No more CFA and less tradings for myself. That is so contradictory to what averge practitioners in the same industry, unless you are talking about people working in "bulge brackets" and receiving piles of cash at year end. I wouldn't risk my career and money on uncertain bets when I will receive a certain amount of big reward at one point.
It sounds I have ruined my career and capped myself in this industry.
Yes, it is.
I know myself well, I am not stupid guy and I believe I am above average intelligence. I am just tooooo lazy to stick to one thing and waiting for success.
To some extent, I've portraited myself as one of the young salmons swims against the strong current. But the laziness has its root through my brain cells that slows my thinking at work, hence affecting my performance and making me always the least outstanding one.
On the other hand, I feel lucky that we don't have many people in the office, otherwise I will stand out from the crowd.
I know I am not retarded as I see my brain fuctions well at non-office hours, in other words, I am cleverer at non-money making stuff.
Lacking of initiative is danger. I've been living goallessly throughout the years without any proper and achieveable targets regardless short term or long term, except retire young retire early.
I've also abandoned my interests in finance long ago, and now have started feeling tired of investing (a.k.a. scientifically gambling) for myself. My future is clouded.
Now I have been working for seven years in HK, pay is fair enough to sustain an ok living standard. Not a crazy fan of luxury brands but can afford to spend some money on them.
I've been trading up in recent years, foods are no longer limited to local cusines and cheap beers only, now am learning to enjoy life where appreciating food is the first stop leading to a wellness living.
When it comes down to work, I now prefer to flex my career planning, not letting myself to be bounded by the financial sector for my next 30 years, ironically long and contrary to my initial plan of retirement. Yet I can't come up with a concrete plan for early retirement, then I need to make myself comfortable with what I will be doing in the rest of the working years.
I don't have many alternatives as a job seeker in the market with only finance-related experience on my CV. But I still better off than most of same age people in HK, though may not be in the best 10% of work force, I think no problem for near the bests.
Personal development is largely driven by personality and aptitude, which most of us would agree. Myself is not a very sociable person and rarely hang around with friends nowadays. Age grows, mind changes. What attracts me most is sporting events, cocktail parties, musical events.
I don't force myself to attend all events, but do keen on enlarge my living circle, as I see this a challenge that people management and communication is an art. I strongly believe that by expanding my social exposure I would also enriching my life with different people I meet.
Sometimes I doubt whether not taking CFA exams would label me as a loser. Err...yes and no.
In fact, this all depends on your definitions and criteria for being a loser. What do you base your evaluation on? Job, career, pay, grade, qualification? They are so subjective and are relative measurements to others.
Should having a perfect life equals to 100, so how importance is job/career out of 100?
