He always spent more on food, gadgets, and travel than I ever did, even when he earned less.
My buddy started his career a couple of years later than I did.
I was fortunate enough to get employed 3 months after graduation, but he struggled. His bachelor’s degree was in Forestry. And despite achieving stellar grades, it didn’t make him any more employable.
After a year and a half of job searching and volunteering, he decided to pivot. He pursued a master’s degree in Business.
Meanwhile, my corporate career as an investment analyst was flourishing. I was promoted twice in less than 3 years.
It wasn’t a race, but if it was, I certainly got a good head…
Sure, have a life of your own but don’t feel bad for living through others. Sometimes, it’s the best thing you can do.
Living your life through other people has a bad rep.
It’s a problem when you only live through others.
So if you’re relatively happy with your life and you’re going after what you want personally, there is frankly a lot of upside in finding people to live through.
And it doesn’t matter if that’s friends, family, or just someone that posts content on the internet.
There are so many situations where living through someone else can improve your own situation. It can educate you and provide an experience you otherwise wouldn’t have had.
Different is Fascinating
Seriously, how would you like to be…
With patience and a little effort, you will eventually be part of a very powerful network.
The ability to network is often touted as a superpower.
But it really isn’t.
Unless you’re playing an extremely short-term game and want an immediate payoff, there are no superpowers involved. You can easily build and maintain a powerful professional network over time without overextending and asking too much of others. You don’t have to stretch anyone’s goodwill so much they tell you to get lost.
The casual longer-term approach isn’t particularly sophisticated. But it’s incredibly effective.
Often, great networking just involves showing up regularly, not making people feel uncomfortable, and not asking for anything.
Networking doesn’t need to have…
The hilariously sad tale of a man that just wants to find love
I thought he was joking.
But after the eighth or ninth complaint, I started taking him more seriously. We even got several second opinions just to make sure it was a thing.
I thought it was weird when he would ask me to take and retake photos of him every time we went out. Especially, when the pictures always looked great. But that was the problem, he looked too good.
Even when struck with red-eye, the guy looked like he was possessed more by boyish charm than demonic forces. And when we didn’t face any technical difficulties, you can bet…
Even though he was an equity research analyst for many years
When the pandemic struck, and markets started selling off, I asked my friend what he was going to do. I wanted to know what he was going to do with his existing portfolio and what opportunities he sees going forward.
I expected him to point out some thematic investment ideas, like buying stocks in companies that would benefit from the stay-at-home initiative — stocks like Amazon, Peloton, Etsy, or whatever everyone else was talking about at the time.
After all, the guy used to be an equity research analyst working for a very well-known buy-side investment firm, so I figured…
Routines have a habit of being broken
Circumstances change.
Last year, like many others, I adopted some new self-care rituals to help myself relax and unwind. I found a new love of reading in the bath. During the winter, this is utter bliss. I would end up feeling relaxed, calm, and content with life. Despite sitting in the bath for over an hour at a time and having my skin prune all over, I loved every minute of it.
The same ritual during a hot summer, however, is torturous.
So it seems what helps us in some circumstances, doesn’t help at every time of the year, week…
These are some of the self-imposed hurdles of an idealized side hustle
The term side hustle means something different to everybody.
While some people start side hustling to generate a little extra income. Others see it as a way to change their lives completely — it’s an opportunity to redirect a lost career or redefine their identity.
So it’s important to note that we don’t start our side hustles for the same reasons or even, outcomes.
Often, in the process of building our side hustles, we can overcomplicate things. …
Write what you can until you can write what you want
You’re not perfect.
Always good to start off with an insult, right?
Ha ok, it’s pretty clear I’m not perfect either. But I guess you already knew that.
When I started writing last year, I thought it would be easy. After all, what’s so difficult about stringing a bunch of words together?
Everything. That’s what.
Each part of the process is gut-wrenchingly difficult. Writing is as liberating as it is debilitating. You start realizing just how difficult it is to express something on paper that you could easily explain out loud in a few minutes. …
I think I’m finally starting to get it
I used to think gardening was a colossal waste of time.
I didn’t enjoy mowing the lawn or pulling out the weeds. But growing up, it was part of my very short list of chores.
Actually, I shouldn’t even call them chores. My mom would just ask me to help her in the garden a handful of times a year. And the rest of the time, she did everything herself.
I know. She spoiled me.
My mom loves gardening. On her days off, she’d spend hours tending to her flowers and plants — all of which have very complicated and…
I wish I knew these tips before I started playing
Yup, I’m just another one of the millions of people that got sucked into Chess after watching The Queen’s Gambit. It’s been a blast. Over the last few months, I’ve played over a thousand games and have worked my way up to a rating of 1378 on Chess.com.
Kevin Lee
I write to provide a different perspective one article at a time. Topics include self-improvement, lifestyle, and personal finance. Former investment analyst.
