Self-awareness: Is it for you?

[Jakelaker]

People are easily seduced by the results, but they forget the process. I strongly believe highly successful are successful not just because of their brilliance but by their ability to project that 1% uniqueness about them.

Share your stories on people who were starry-eyed on a (quantitative finance) career path and you brought them some light or they just proceeded and 'failed'. There must be a lot and it's not limited to the quant. finance realm.

Also, what is your take on self-awareness? Do you think it is important? Do you think it should high priority in your 20s? Are *you* self-aware?

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I read once that the true mark of a pro — at anything — is that he understands, loves, and is good at even the drudgery of his profession.

- Paul Halmos

Do you think it should high priority in your 20s?
Nah. Youth is wasted on the young.

Are *you* self-aware?
No. The human brain has no control over itself.

 

[Jakelaker]

I read once that the true mark of a pro — at anything — is that he understands, loves, and is good at even the drudgery of his profession.

- Paul Halmos

Do you think it should high priority in your 20s?
Nah. Youth is wasted on the young.

Are *you* self-aware?
No. The human brain has no control over itself.

Very interesting metaphorical quote. I notice that people who excel in their field gain deep 'big-picture' insights in their field which they autmomatically relate to everything else through analogical reasoning (but not limited to that).

Random thought: I feel that every academic field is fundamentally the same... e.g., there's 'market mechanism' in every field. It's just a conjecture. My knowledge is only limited to a handful of fields.

I don't want to enter territory of philosophical debates but what I meant was that if you are mostly self-aware, and not completely self-aware of literally everything. By 'mostly', I mean having a big-picture understand of who you are such as core strengths, thinking styles/habits, eccentricities, etc.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future,
sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis
more reliable than my own meandering experience
I will dispense this advice now.

 

[Jakelaker]

Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future,
sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis
more reliable than my own meandering experience
I will dispense this advice now.

Interesting speech (I Googled it). I've employed a similar mindset to living life: do things so that you won't regret not doing it later.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

It's also a song by Buz Luhrman.