Wall St
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I stepped onto Wall Street expecting 100+ hour work weeks, hyper-competitiveness, most guys bald by 30, and the irony of learning I could make more money by trading on my own using skills I had gained from YouTube.

And ... yes! That's how Wall St. works.

But it isn't the soul-sucking Mike Judge's Office Space environment. It's more like an NFL team that's addicted to Adderall.

It's a weirdly evil place. But it teaches you a lot.

So, in this madness, I wanted to share three things I've picked up talking to traders at bars, co-workers and my tidbits of — what I hope is — wisdom.

1. There's a Matrix (and it's not what I thought)

There's an issue with chasing dogmatic success on Wall St. and in most Western Countries.

A trader of over 20+ years taught me this at the White Tavern. He said your problem is that you assign materialistic values to your life: wealth, women, and more stuff.

So you have more power over your fellow men, but are you happier?

Is that your definition of success?

What he left me with, which I think is very powerful, is how can you ever "make it" (a term coined by people who want you in the rat race) when you're chasing someone else's definition of success?

What is "making it" for you? Is it money, a purpose, a family, charity, things? Think about it.

2. No Boss Is Worth Losing Your Mental Health For

Work is a habitual sacrifice.

Wall Street people get paid a lot, but they also die early. Make the sacrifice that makes sense for you and your life.

Some people are born to dedicate their first 60 years and prove to the corporation that they deserve to be on the "partner track."

They are proud of their sacrifices, their perpetual dark rings around their eyes, their divorces due to never seeing their families or take a vacation, telling others they never ever took a vacation for bragging rights.

Lugging a $350 Tumi bag and doing endless corporate presentations and being told you're not good enough every step of the way.

For some, this kind of sacrifice is gratifying but for many, it is not.

3. Making Money is Easy

My boss, who makes ten times what I make, taught me this.

Making money is easy and intelligent, overanalytical people struggle with it because they paralyze themselves with perfectionism.

If you look at most rich people — there's even a documentary about it — they credit their genius to not overthinking anything. To being "dumb."

As Hunter Thompson wrote: "A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance."

Simply realizing that you're indecisive puts you ahead if you're willing to work on fixing it. I hear film directors wear the same outfits daily because it's one less decision they must make. Don't be too smart to live.

A lot of this is nothing new. Yet working in a real-life American Psycho (I watch people pay with American Express Platinum cards all the time) makes you think about your life choices.

Be the master of your own kingdom and good luck.