Follow your dream, or rising from the investment banking

This is the story of the young Briton. He received an excellent education, and had an enviable career prospects. But he quit his job in a solid bank with a good salary. Instead of climbing the corporate ladder, he chose to follow his dream.

What came of it, read on.

"My name is Steven Ridley. In 2010 I graduated from one of the best British universities received a diploma with honors in philosophy, politics and economics. And immediately went to work in the investment department (IBD) the European Investment Bank, which a year ago was an intern.

16 months I have been working with top-notch team of experts (based on their income). But in October 2011, he left.

I want to tell you about this experience and what happened after that, I left with a very profitable operation, in order to realize his dream. It will now. And it will be completely honest.

I warn you: I do not want to insult anyone, it does not "attack" on bankers. I just want to share your experience, tell about the lessons learned. I want to encourage you.

Look at the picture above. That's what I'm doing now. And it's different from what I was before.

Banking - the hell, cruelly. I learned this during my first internship, but I did not care. I wanted money. Wanted prestige. I wanted to be someone important in his own eyes and in the eyes of others. But most of all I wanted money. Why?

Because the money - it's freedom. Money means that I can wear what I want, live where I want to go where I want, eat what I want, to be what I want. Money should make me happy.

Right? I'm afraid not. In fact, the money does not make happy any more a banker. None of the about 200 people, the people I know in the banking environment, is not happy. Even those whose salary is several times more than the average.

banking reality. Like everyone else, I was working until my ass is not will grow to a chair. Served boring, causing cerebral palsy work. My life has been a continuous e-mail'om, Excel'em, PowerPoint'om, continuous meetings, plans and shit, to which I did not care. Draft - Edit - draft - changes. Meeting. Again work. Multitasking. Boredom. Boredom. Fatigue. Boredom. Playing hide and seek with his colleagues on Friday. Again work. Depression. Fatigue. Fatigue. Fatigue. And despair ...

15-hour working day - this is the minimum. Usually it lasted 16-17 hours, and often 20 or more. A couple of times a month working "day" dragged on through the night. Every second weekend of the month I was working.

I've never been free. While I have always been BlackBerry and, accordingly, I was never able to completely "disconnect" from work.

Many people think that the life of a banker - this is the life of a millionaire, in front of which are open all the doors, if he drinks Dalmore and always walks with a couple of models under his arm.

But the fact is that the only model that I saw - was a model in Excel, and instead of the high-end whiskey I had only bottles of Coca-Cola, which I drank in large quantities so as not to fall asleep at work.

Although I tried to keep in touch with some friends (a testament to how they good), in fact I have never been with them, could never relax and enjoy their company. I was too anxious and exhausted by work or just selfish to lead a normal dialogue. All the time I was tired all the time is under stress, with some fixated thoughts in my head.

But these thoughts were about the. I am not happy. But are my golden years, my 20th. I want to look back and remember them with love and pride. I must be doing something interesting, as long as I do not have a serious commitment. I am richer than ever. But I do not feel the happiness which overwhelmed me when I travel light, one backpack traveled to South America. This is dumb.

I like 95% of my colleagues could not call his work interesting. You do not play golf with the CEO, at ease discussing business strategy, and then not sit in your "Lamborghini" to 15:30 to go home and have sex with his hot girlfriend.

Not. You're sitting at a computer and you can not even 5 minutes once a week to sunbathe. You're not in shape, you have bad skin. You're tired, but you have to come another "office" dinner. Only then can you call a taxi, which is an hour or two in the morning will take your lonely ass home in a cold bed.

And in those rare moments when you manage to spend with a client meeting without a tie, you're not fascinating conversation with an interesting man. You're talking about finances with some depressive office robot that pretends it's important, and often - not even pretending.

Of course, sometimes I have met people who did come to the delight of "debt restructuring" and other financial mechanisms. But this only further drives me into depression, recalling what nonsense I'm doing. All of this begs the question: why do I spend on their time (half of which I should have been able to sleep)?

After all, you'll never be as rich as those superstars that you admire, seeing them on TV or in the movies. Despite the fact that I was well paid, I can not every week to buy their own helicopter, flaunt designer outfit, to leave the club to 30 thousand for the night or to spend the weekend on some exotic island, where I would have delivered private plane.

Your income is above average, but, nevertheless, still pretty average. Of course, you can buy a Macbook Air, without even thinking. You can take a taxi instead of a bus. But I was struck by how modest living bankers.

It is painfully polite middle class people in their lives do not have any adventures and breathtaking vistas. This is a bunch of nerds Caught in a cage made of money and greed, and they will never get out of it.

Life should be something more than all this.

In the end, I decided - to hell with the bank. The moment came when I stopped to buy their own things cool because they only increased reliance on the work that I hated and who had taken more of my whole life is shortened.

In the university, I worked hard to have a good, successful and happy life. But I have not found it in IBD. And those who stood above me - is not found. Even the big shots were really miserable and uninteresting, and often - just a miserable old fart.

I do not want to become one of them. I wanted to be a bright personality, to live with love in your heart. I wanted to be the one who goes with passion for life, happiness and laughter, who are at risk, loves traveling, looking lost and looking again.

I was preparing his departure gradually. First began to pass the interview to other positions. An analyst at a hedge fund, private Equity Analyst, broker dealer, insurance agent, asset management, sales, stock trading. But it was boring, as it means to spend a lifetime at a computer desk. All of this also meant long working hours (maybe a couple of hours shorter than it was for me). None of this is fueled spark.

So I started to look for work in large corporations in their financial teams. Once again, I took a couple of interviews, even got some job offers. But it was all the same shit.

I did not want to be a robot in a suit and tie. To hell with that, Stephen, to hell!

In the end, I broke down. I was filled with anger. I left the office at 7 pm to get ready for the next interview, scheduled for 8:30 am. This meant that my partner will be open until 5 am. At 8:00 I was not at work - I was at a job interview. It was stupid, another boring "opportunity" to work in the field of debt refinancing in Tesco head office. To hell! I've had enough. Finance Scope died for me.

I came to work about 11 hours, and at 11:01 my partner have dragged me to the "dark corner" to tell that sleeping only 1.5 hours, and about what I mweirdo. She said that the boss to complain, and was going to go away. And I said that we should not bother - I'll do it myself.

I went to the boss and say that I've had enough. I thanked him for the time we worked together. He reciprocated. We shook hands. After that, I packed up and made a farewell e-mail-mailing colleagues.

After 20 minutes, I left the office forever. The BlackBerry Goodbye, goodbye pass goodbye Banking!

The sun never shone so brightly, the air was never so sweet, and I have never been so easy. I was free. FREE! I damn the devil was so clear, that even could feel the taste of this heady feeling.

What did I do at this point? Oddly enough, I went with a friend in a shopping center (a long story). During a walk in one of the boutiques I saw the piano. It was what I needed - strum tune and relax.

I did not even ask permission. Just I walked in and started playing. To me there and then a man came up, gave me a compliment and asked why I do it. I said, "I am a musician" (why not?). He asked: "How much is your performance?". I said, "100 pounds in 2 hours." The man hired me.

Just like that, I became a musician. I worked for 9 hours per day, 5 days a week, almost for the same money that a bank.

I rewind a bit: I left the store a few weeks, as I realized I did not want to be "background", until someone tries on a suit. I wanted to be in the spotlight. I would like to entertain the world. I wanted to give people music.

So one day I rolled the piano on one of the busiest streets in London and started playing. For a month I got a 9 contract proposals - I started to record their first album.

It took another six months. I travel around the world. My album titled «Butterfly in A Hurricane» sold in iTunes.

I play for tens of thousands of people. I feel the love and beauty of the world. I laugh to tears. I get so much female attention as I thought, can not get a guy like me. This is the living thing that I have ever felt.

Working at the bank, I had to do every day what I hated, and hate myself for what I am doing. I was a bad friend.

Now I'm doing what I love, and I was bursting with excitement. Everyday. Engaged in favorite business, I make others happier, which are very good to me. People open their hearts to me. And I say to them in return.

I travel with my piano around the world, giving the world the love. And love is growing every day in me more and more. I never thought that one could be so happy.

To hell with it - now I can not afford to dress Prada, but I eagerly live every day, I can not wait until the morning comes. After the morning waiting for me voice lessons and meetings with representatives of Coca-Cola (they want to see me with their advertising face).

I do not know what will happen in the future (which I like), but I know that everything will be fine, because I am in control of my life.

23 years old I pumped my brain now I use it.

Why I wrote this? I just wanted to reach out to those who work in the banking sector, he is unhappy, but is afraid to leave. I want to reach out to all the boring guys with great skills. I want to reach out to all those who read this and say, jump off a cliff and is engaged in what you love.

Perhaps you do not know what it is, but make no mistake - you will find your business. You can be anyone, because you deserve so much more than being tired clerk's office.

Of course, if this is the case throughout your life and you are happy - fine. I'm just sharing my experience. Banking has not brought me, and most of those I met, happiness.

Life is short - you're young, you're old, you're dead. Keep this in mind and act! You have nothing to lose.

With love, Stephen Ridley. "