Sorry for the confusion, my point is that $30k passively invested in an s&p 500 index fund in 1985 would be worth about $2.2mm today. So while it would be great to have an asset worth $360k today, the year to year return isn’t great.
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Not a major decision by any means at the point, but one with massive consequences: deciding to run down the stairs of a student building after having finished a sizable delivery to the second floor, which resulted in my slipping and hitting several steps in succession. Hard. I wasn’t able to get up for several minutes, and the injury took almost 9 months to heal. This was in November of 2020.
The pain came back with a vengeance in the spring of 2023, out of nowhere, and has it made impossible for me to work one of several jobs that was the main source of my income.
Nothing has solved the pain so far, as I am the proverbial ‘mystery patient’ to most doctors I’ve seen. It’s pretty frustrating to keep throwing money at procedures and tests that do F all.
And so, in hindsight I wish I’d taken my sweet ole time getting back to my car on that cold November day.
Hindsight’s 20/20. #FML
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Yikes! I hope you find relief, somehow, somewhere!
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Hope they either solve the mystery, or you heal through. I’ve had a few “big” injuries but have been fortunate in overcoming them. Maybe not 100%, but livable. Just had a great kid who graduated last year blow up most if his hands in a fireworks accident. Second graduate I’ve had who suffered a serous fireworks injury.
“This IS the god stuff…snakes and sparklers.” -Kicking Wing
Dear God. We were only allowed to touch the sparklers, after they’d been lit by an adult. Everything else was the grownups’ job. And that was pretty much confined to Roman candles, shot across an empty parking lot.
I am hoping to see a neurologist next, bc I’m pretty sure it’s nerve damage. Maybe a nerve block could resolve the issue. It’s been a really shitty, painful week 
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Regrets I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention.
I really don’t have regrets. Life has been good so far.
But if given a chance for a do over, the one thing I would do better was sell myself more and sooner. I only discovered much later how much of a difference this makes. There’s a saying that you want insecure overachievers to work for you. I was one when I started. Keep my head down, work hard and do good work and get recognized. I thought that was the key to success. I found out hard work only gets you so far. It differentiates you in the beginning but as time goes on how do you advance against others like you? I got promoted regularly. But I wanted to make MD. No amount of hard work was going to get me to that next level I found out after busting my butt. I had the benefit of someone basically sitting down with me and telling me what it would take. I needed to sell people on the idea that there was no one else more capable than me at what I did and I could do the next job better than the other guy. No I in team (unless you’re French) but I had to sell myself as a leader on the team.
It’s a lesson that can be applied in many areas. Like restaurants. The restaurant has to have core competence but those that can sell or market themselves to an audience will have more success.
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When I see MD I think medical doctor; if not, what does that stand for?
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I totally agree with this. I started very early and still can recall the steps I achieved required a great deal of barter. When I was in charge, my hiring practices were very different and my crew was very loyal.
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Managing Director?
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That’s it. In my firm it’s the highest corporate title. After that you get to add something descriptive. Like MD - head of US whatever or global this and that.
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Interesting. I’m one of those people who also had a hard time selling themselves — something I neither cared for nor was particularly good at.
Then you see less talented folks “make it” bc they have a level of self-confidence they really shouldn’t have.
Still not sure if I envy them. But my job(s) are more of a passion, and none of them were ever going to make me rich anyway. And fame is decidedly overrated.
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If you work in a large organization you find yourself constantly encountering people where you realize that lots of very successful people are no smarter or capable than you. But they have a level of confidence in their abilities that many lack. No imposter syndrome going on. Some have it naturally. Others have to learn it. At a point I realized I was really good at what I did. Immodestly I can say I am one of the best in my field. I learned how to become a cocky SOB when I needed to be one.
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We’re in very different fields. Take one look at American Idol auditions, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The problem with the arts is that honest criticism from your peers is a rarity, and so many very untalented folks are under the impression that they are the bees’ knees.
Connections is also something that matters greatly, and luck.
Whatever it is you do is likely judged by more objective criteria than what goes for that in the performing arts.
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your firm doesn’t have a partner title or a cxo suite?
No partners. MD is equal to old partner title before the firm went public long ago. Sure we have C suite but they’re all MDs with big function titles. I am the MD head of US bladdey blah. Sounds impressive but when I sign stuff it just says MD on the signature line and the same on the incumbency certificate. We all have bosses though. Even the CEO. I have seen a more than few of mine get shown the door.
I think I get it. A long long time ago I used to date a lovely girl who was a singer. Beautiful voice. She sacrificed a lot to try and make it professionally. The whole starving artist lifestyle. I was her working stiff boyfriend. The odd man out when we got together with her other artist friends. While she had the talent, the mix of luck and making the right connections didn’t workout for her. I still have a demo tape that I take out from time to time to listen to her amazing voice and sometimes wonder what might have been. Pulling this post back into the vein of the original question I have to wonder what regrets she may have.
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when we started our firm, we let everyone choose their titles. Worked surprisingly well, zero politics over promotions and title changes, comp based on responsibility, firm-wide and individual production.
There were some funny stories around people changing their title “if that guy is an MD, I’m a senior MD!” Then the guy who called himself an MD decided he’d be a Global MD. Eventually one of them complained to us and we told him we just didn’t care.
best,
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I met a lawyer once, who had GGTK listed after his name on his business cards.
Good Guy To Know
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We all need one!
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