@averagemoneymd@ThinkAppraiser Actually, that makes sense. My numbers are about the same. But somehow my expenses are through the roof. Gonna spend some time to read through your blog. Looks great
Tonight at bedtime, my son asked me to snuggle with him after prayers.
As I laid there in the dark, his tiny fingers interlocked in mine, I did something I do often:
I closed my eyes and imagined myself as a 90-year-old man.
This man sat in a rocking chair alone thinking back to this exact moment in time with his young son, before he grew up & moved away. The old man would give ANYTHING to be back in this moment even for a second. Anything.
I open my eyes. And I am there in that perfect memory.
It’s time travel. And it’s a powerful exercise in gratitude.
I can easily get bogged down in business and the day-to-day chaos. Taking a moment to slow it all down does wonders for me.
Highly recommend.
Many students who reach the top of the academic world get to a point where they choose between two paths to financial success:
Business or Big Law.
For a long time, many who chose business ended up ahead financially. For those who graduated 10 years ago, I think it's flipped.
Of course, they're completely different lifestyles.
With Big Law, where you're being billed out at over $1,000 an hour, you are pushing yourself to fill as much of the week with billable hours as possible.
If a client is in the middle of a deal, you push even harder—and if it requires working at 3 a.m. or on Thanksgiving, you are expected to work at 3 a.m. or on Thanksgiving.
But the money's going to be there.
You start out of college at $225k with a $15k bonus.
By year five of the grind, you're making $370k with a $75k bonus.
Reach ten years and make partner—you're 35 and making over $1M a year, and it keeps going.
It's an insane grind with great personal sacrifice, and the $20M payday is not going to be on the table like it may be for the business folks, but you are going to be 50 and quite rich.
On the business side, many go into private equity and venture capital.
In private equity, the hours can be long, and when there's a deal to compete for or diligence to conduct, you are going to push—but the lifestyle is commonly seen as much better, with much more freedom.
The base salary is not going to be as high—much of your income will be based on "carry."
This means that if you find a great opportunity for your firm to invest in and it does well, you are in store for a huge payday.
Your firm invests $50M that turns into $300M; your firm's cut may be $50M of that $250M profit, and they will give you part of that $50M.
BUT—those paydays often won't be for years, if at all.
In today's climate, private company valuations are way down over the last few years, and much of the "carry" that looked great on paper a few years ago is now not worth anything at all.
For years, the Big Law folks watched as their peers worked fewer hours and made boatloads of money as exits were happening left and right.
They quietly kept grinding along, banking that nice salary each year, growing their savings, and investing here and there.
Finally, for this point in time, and for the foreseeable future—they made the right choice.
If, of course, financial gain is their measuring stick.
I'm surprised how many people don't know how to use ChatGPT on their phones properly.
Here are 5 ways to use ChatGPT on your phone to maximize productivity:
Business owners and students will love this.
This AI tool can save you hours of work by designing and customizing an entire slide deck.
Here's how to use Gamma- ChatGPT for presentations:
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