MoneyMan_CFA: you do know that most people are dating/married to people that are older than 5yrs, right?
tvPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MoneyMan_CFA: you do know that most people are > dating/married to people that are older than 5yrs, > right? What does the age part have to do with anything? Unless you mean the part about putting it up in a high place? Ha…I guess i meant a noticable place in plain view where its in the front of her mind. The actual “height” of the placement is irrelavent your’re right. We keep our materials out to remind us to stay focused dont we? Do the same with the wife if you cant get her on board.
If you cant get your wife/gf on board then you have problems bigger than an exam. If you want them onboard just print off the salary survey from CFAI and put it on the fridge (yeah its not 100% accurate, etc). If I put a pair of diamond earrings on the shelf she would just laugh and go buy herself a pair that day…but the idea of earning a lot more for a long time creates a vision that will stick with them.
tvPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you cant get your wife/gf on board then you > have problems bigger than an exam. If you want > them onboard just print off the salary survey from > CFAI and put it on the fridge (yeah its not 100% > accurate, etc). If I put a pair of diamond > earrings on the shelf she would just laugh and go > buy herself a pair that day…but the idea of > earning a lot more for a long time creates a > vision that will stick with them. Guys my first post was really just a joke, however I do think its probably difficult for alot of people’s SO to really comprehend the point of all this and time commitment associated with it. Especially the ones who could really care less about having quite a bit more money. There are some, its not a myth. The point was to simply find something to get them to look forward to. Trying to get someone to invision the slight possibility of more money 3,4, or 5 years down the road whenever you finish this thing could be hard to really get excited about. I am not sure getting your wife onboard simply for the fact there will be more money is neccessarily any better than them being onboard at all. All it should really take is you explaining you want a challenge and a chance to improve yourself.
Sure the CFA is time consuming, and relationships and even friendships suffer. But it is just a few months worth and they should be able to understand and be supportive. Which, I think, is the most common case. Unfortunately some have had bad experiences, but that also applies to high demanding job / hobby / etc…
Shared this thread with my wife, she says we don’t have any conflicts due to taking the CFA exams.
This is a good discussion, here’s what I’d like to add: I’m not so sure about the work/life balance idea, especially when it comes to aspiring to be a very successful business-owner/investor/CEO. I’m not simply talking about making the six figures as a senior analyst or whatever but much more. If you look at the very successful both in America and abroad, maybe 90% of these people have the workaholic syndrome. Look at Bill Gates as an example, the guy met his wife while she was working at Microsoft. That’s not a coincidence. Examples from where I live are Murray Edwards (billionaire oil and gas investor) who didn’t get married until his 40s (infamously known as a workaholic) and Brett Wilson, also successful through Edwards, who was divorced by his first wife because of neglect (as he explains in a recent interview). I used to believe in the elusive work/life balance (or at least wanted to believe in it because I was told it is important), but I continue to see countless examples of highly successful people who sacrifice their personal lives. We have all of these self-help books that tell us that we should spend more time with our wives/husbands and how to balance priorities but these successful people aren’t doing it. In my opinion, it takes a very accepting partner who is patient and motivated by your desire to succeed. Patience is probably most important. If these characteristics don’t exist, there’s a high chance that you will end up in divorce. So I guess the question is, what is more important to you? It seems unwise to make promises that you know you can’t commit to–you would just be fooling yourself. If you want to take a crack at making it big, should you get married later or delay having kids (at the risk of miscarriage and other risks), or not have them at all? Your thoughts?
I think that those of us who have passed all 3 exams should help out our brothers still taking exams with their wives and girlfriends, if you get my drift.
Working Towards What You Already Have The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.” The American then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.” The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever- expanding enterprise.” The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15 to 20 years.” “But what then?” asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.” “Millions?..Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.” - Author Unknown
^^That was just posted in another thread…thanks for your 1 post contribution. http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?1,887602,888293#msg-888293
no prob. It’s a pretty famous story. My fav of all time. still trying to work up to 760 post. but i doubt i’ll be that engrossed. =) Good luck to everyone who’s working towards their goals to “success and happiness”.
TheAliMan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > So I guess the question is, what is more important > to you? It seems unwise to make promises that you > know you can’t commit to–you would just be > fooling yourself. If you want to take a crack at > making it big, should you get married later or > delay having kids (at the risk of miscarriage and > other risks), or not have them at all? Your > thoughts? My husband has been extremely supportive of me studying so far (and I of him as he worked on his part-time mba over the last 3 years). He knows how badly I want to succeed, so he does whatever I need him to. In turn, I try to be as pleasant as possible when I’m completely stressed out. The result is no arguments. As for the work/life discussion: As a woman, I made a conscious decision a long time ago to delay having children. When I do have kids, I will still work full-time, but I have seen so few (women especially) that can give their career all they have with kids at home. I plan to have a well-established career by the time that comes, so I can “coast” for a few years. I think it is possible to have a great marriage if you’re a workaholic, but I don’t think it leads to being a good parent.
My gf supported me very well during the 4 months of studying CFA despite me spending less time with her. If your gf can’t understand the importance of the exam you’re going through and add even more stress to you, then she’s not worth it.
She went away for three weeks to let me study. As as Smarshy said it, after coming home from the exam I went all heteroskedastic over her.
TheAliMan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------ > > I used to believe in the elusive work/life balance > (or at least wanted to believe in it because I was > told it is important), but I continue to see > countless examples of highly successful people who > sacrifice their personal lives. We have all of > these self-help books that tell us that we should > spend more time with our wives/husbands and how to > balance priorities but these successful people > aren’t doing it. In my opinion, it takes a very > accepting partner who is patient and motivated by > your desire to succeed. Patience is probably most > important. If these characteristics don’t exist, > there’s a high chance that you will end up in > divorce. > > So I guess the question is, what is more important > to you? It seems unwise to make promises that you > know you can’t commit to–you would just be > fooling yourself. If you want to take a crack at > making it big, should you get married later or > delay having kids (at the risk of miscarriage and > other risks), or not have them at all? Your > thoughts? I agree with you - it really depends on what you want in life. Some people can go through a marriage with little emotional connection, you just need to ask if that’s what you want. You can’t be a super worker/boss, super mom and super parent all at the same time - something’s gotta give. Before I left my last job, my boss stated my career path with his firm. I knew I COULD make it to Partner, I just didn’t WANT to. I believe in work life balance, because, honestly as much as I love my job, my intrinsic motivation is greater than the money. If I didn’t need to work financially, I’d still be in this industry simply b/c it’s exciting, stimulating and it’s my passion. And THAT’s what keeps me happy.