Dig – I’ma put it on the table
I ain’t a thug nigga and playa, I ain’t playful
I’m just Senim Silla, man without label
Standin’ on my own to you tryin’ to stay stable
Speakin’ what I know to only what I’m able
I ain’t the kinda guy who carry on for dough
The material cat who walk around for show
I’m just your everyday, merry way joe on the go
While others go with the flow
I ain’t never been the one to follow trend, I do my own bit
Can’t keep up with the joneses, I’m on my own shit
I don’t care what you drink
What you stress, how you dress, or where you got the link
I ain’t impressed
06
Feb
Honest Expression
Have you ever stopped to consider how people view you and what they think of you?
I am a big believer that it does not matter what people think of you, and that as long as you’re comfortable with your actions and yourself then you’re good to go. It rarely crosses my mind to wonder what people will think of me if I’m doing this or not doing that.
But I think it’s naive to think that it perception does not matter, but not for the reasons you’re probably thinking.
Sometimes other people are better able to criticize any flaws and weaknesses in you, and it’s good to hear it every now and then so that you can address any problems with yourself that you might not be able to see on your own. If a friend came to me and told me in total honesty something I did not want to hear, I would respect that and at least stop to consider if anything he or she said had merit to it.
I feel like a lot of times people are told things by other people, things which they don’t want to hear, and dismiss it self-righteously. They think they are being strong willed or independent or some other benevolent self-noble adjective. It’s true, you can’t always listen to other people and for the most part you have to follow your heart and do what you feel is right. I think the key though, is to know when to dismiss what other people say and when not to.
Anyway, this popped into my head this morning because for some reason I have the urge to ask my friends what they think of me, but I didn’t want to appear insecure because I’m really not. If you think about it, it’s a very odd question to ask someone. But if there’s something I can work on that people think negatively about, I want to know about it. Maybe I’m a selfish prick sometimes, or maybe I’m cheap as hell other times. Or maybe I’m too insensitive and say fucked up things at inappropriate times. These are the things I’d like to know, and I wouldn’t mind in the least if a friend were to tell me that.
*edit
On a related note, just read an interesting post by Mark Cuban. If you’re not familiar with his blog, go check him out. Lots of big ideas, and if you’re the entrepreneurial type or just enjoy reading about different takes on things such as business or internet trends, you might find his blog enjoyable.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s post that is relevant to mine:
While its fun to make a list of those who have criticized me, the criticism is incredibly valuable. As a businessperson and one who tries to stay ahead of the technology and business curve, even when it means taking a position that is far from popular, critics serve the purpose of always “making you check your hole card” . In other words, the more a position I take gets challenged, the smarter I get on the position. So the criticism is welcome.
Securities Finance: Securities Lending and Repurchase Agreements (Frank J. Fabozzi Series)
This is what I’m currently reading. I normally would not read something like this because this is the type of stuff I would typically consider dry and dull. However, recently I’ve been motivated to learn more about the type of work I’m in, securities lending. Being in the operations side of things, I didn’t really get the “big picture” of how stock loan works and wanted to gain a more holistic view of the way things work.
I’m still in the very beginning of the book. Really heavy stuff that takes a long time for it to sink in, but I actually find a lot of it fascinating. One particular section really struck me, of which the title of this post is named after. I wish in college, at the very beginning of your finance/economics career, they explained why the things you were going to learn and the work you were going to do would be important in the greater scheme of things. And in such eloquent terms.
Here’s an excerpt:
A growing number of economists and policymakers, backed up by day-to-day experience, now share a consensus view: robust capital markets, which offer a full array of modern financial products and practices, contribute to long-term national economic growth by encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, even given periodic market corrections.
Capital markets can finance economic growth more efficiently than traditional bank-lending systems that depend on making a “spread” of interest rate revenue over the banks’ costs of funds. Capital markets can more easily diversify and distribute risk by dividing shares in the equity ownership or portions of the debt involved in financing enterprises into stocks and bonds, which in turn can be more widely dispersed among investors than traditional loans.
The availability of active markets for shares in new enterprises then enables venture capitalists to make a range of investments in a variety of high-risk ventures–in the hope that one or more spectacularly successful IPOs will more than make up for other ventures’ failures and losses. Traditional commercial banks, by contrast, cannot risk lending to an array of unproven startups–however promising–because banks cannot earn enough additional interest on those new firms that succeed to make up for capital they are likely to lose when other, unproved borrowers fail.
03
Feb
Auto-Pilot
I’m not sure how often this happens to other people, but it pisses me off when I do something so often that my brain shuts down and just goes on auto-pilot.
Exhibit A:
I take a certain highway to Queens and get off of a specific exit to hop on to another highway all the time. The vast majority of the time, this is the road I take. However, on the few occasions where I’m headed in the same direction but different location and need to take the first highway a few exits past the exit I normally hop on to, I’ve always managed to completely forget and end up taking the path I normally take to Queens.
It’s come to the point where I have to tell myself “you are NOT going to take this exit, you must go past it” and I STILL do it. It’s crazy. It’s like my mind goes blank when I reach that certain area and my body just takes over.
Exhibit B:
The reason for this post . . .
Every time I go to the kitchen to prepare a protein shake before I head to bed, I wind up brushing my teeth. Maybe it’s because the bathroom is right there . . . maybe it’s because it’s that time of the night and my body knows it has to sleep . . . maybe I’m just a retard. Whatever the reason is, it’s annoying as hell because I only remember the protein shake RIGHT at the moment the toothpaste is being worked into my teeth. Then it’s just one big DOH!
Damnit why can’t the executive function of my brain be more dominant!
43 Simple Ways To Simplify Your Life
A friend shared this with me the other day. Does anybody else think it’s ironic that a list that’s supposed to help simplify your life doesn’t look so simple? Here was my reaction (with some minor editing):
This list is not simple enough . . .
1. Get your priorities straight and get shit done when shit has to get done.
2. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Grab a drink, play some ball, play WoW. Whatever floats your boat.
3. Quit bitching about shit and go do something about it. This means, if you’re broke, get a job. If your job sucks, get a new one. If you’re bored, find a hobby. Etcetera etcetera.
4. Positive attitude. Self explanatory.
Sure, it might not be an explicit list but it’s easier to follow than some list of 43 things.
