Profound and non consequential

Welcome to 2009 everyone! I hope everyone had good times over the holidays.

I know Wednesday is my blog day but hey, when you get laid off and you have all the time in the world you gotta do something right? That's right, I joined the millions of people who are now fully self-employed. Oh the life experiences that you learn from. Only the tough ones are the ones you can learn from. So, I’m taking it all in stride (as of now), and am focusing on staying healthy (mind and body). It’s not worth worrying about things you can’t control. The truth is, I was going to quit in June anyways, but I would have liked to have a job lined up beforehand. This brings me to my next point. . .

When you make lots of money, and you live a certain lifestyle, you are bound to that job. Unless someone else is willing to pay you that amount, you have no other options but to stay there. If you enjoy it, then great, but if you don’t enjoy every aspect of it, then you’re wasting your life away. I’ve been pretty miserable at work for the last year and a half and I’m looking forward to 2009. I may burn through all my entire life savings, but there’s something to be said for not putting myself through the daily monotony of cubical-ism. I’m actually looking forward to what the future holds, what opportunities may be presented. Now, when an opportunity comes along which 3 months ago I would have seen as a gamble, I can now take it and not worry about the consequences, because as far as I know, there are none.

Some of you may know that I’m a big fan of Howard Stern, not because he has strippers on his show, or asks celebrities about their sex lives. His pushing of the envelope has helped define freedom of speech in our country, and he is widely misunderstood. If you don’t like what he broadcasts then don’t listen to it, it’s as simple as that. Similarly, if you’re a celebrity and you don’t want to divulge your personal events on radio, don’t go on his show. But I digress, this article is not about Howard, I was merely making a point that you can’t innovate, excel, and succeed if you are tied to a desk. It will be tough, but I know that I will succeed. I’m glad that I have the chance to re-evaluate my career direction without negative consequences.

Speaking of non-consequential, I hope everyone is as disgusted with this as I am. A disgraced banking executive has returned to school, no not as a student as I would have expected, but as a professor. Greg Fleming will be teaching at Yale University instead of running the now defunct Merrill Lynch which was absorbed by Bank of America. I have a suggestion for the title of his syllabus: “What NOT to do.” I also have a suggestion for the prospective students of his class, DON’T DO IT. And last but not least, my last suggestion for Yale University, DON’T advertise that you’re hiring out of work bankers to teach your students, how asinine.