This is the story of a young Briton. He received an excellent education and had enviable career prospects.. But he quit his job at a reputable bank with a good salary. Instead of, to climb the career ladder, he chose to follow his dream.
What came of it, Further reading.
“My name is Stephen Ridley. IN 2010 year I graduated from one of the best British universities, received a red diploma in philosophy, politics and economics. And immediately went to work in the investment department (IBD) European Investment Bank, where did an internship a year earlier.
16 months I worked with a team of first-class specialists (judging by their income). But in October 2011 the year is gone.
I want to tell you about this experience and that, what happened after, about that, how I quit a very profitable job, ради того, to make your dream come true. It will be right now. And it will be completely fair.
I warn you: I do not want to offend anyone, this is not an "attack" on bankers. I just want to share my experience, tell about lessons, which he extracted. I want to inspire you.
Look at the photo above. This is what, чем я сейчас занимаюсь. And this is different from that, who i was before.
Banking is, Gosh darn, brutally. I learned this during my first internship., but I didn't care. I wanted money. Hotel prestige. I wanted to be someone important in my own eyes and in the eyes of others. But most of all I wanted money. Why?
Because money is freedom. Money means, what can i wear, What do I want, жить там, where I want, ехать туда, wherever I want, есть то, What do I want, be that, who I want. Money should make me happy.
Right? I 'm afraid, what is not. Actually, money has not made any banker happy yet. None of the order 200 human, who do I know in the banking environment, is not happy. Even those, whose salary is several times higher than the average.
The reality of banking is. Like all, я работал, until the ass grows to the chair. Was doing boring, brain paralysis work. My life was all e-mail, Excel’ем, PowerPoint’ом, continuous meetings, plans and other shit, to which I did not care. Draft - revisions - draft - revisions. Meetings. Work again. Multitasking. Boredom. Boredom. Fatigue. Boredom. Hide and seek with colleagues on Fridays. Work again. Депрессия. Fatigue. Fatigue. Fatigue. And despair ...
15-one hour working day is the minimum. It usually lasted 16-17 hours, and often more 20. A couple of times a month the working "day" dragged on for the whole night. Every second weekend of the month I worked.
I was never free. I always had a BlackBerry with me and, respectively, I have never been able to completely "disconnect" from work.
Many people think, that the life of a banker is the life of a millionaire, before which all doors are open, like he drinks Dalmore and always walks with a couple of models under his arm.
But the facts are, that the only models, which I saw, - there were models in Excel, and instead of elite whiskey, I only had Coca-Cola bottles, which I drank in large quantities, so as not to fall asleep at work.
Although I tried to keep in touch with some friends (evidence that, насколько они хороши), I have never really been with them, could never relax and enjoy their company. I was too preoccupied and work-exhausted or just selfish, to have a normal dialogue. I was tired all the time, was in a state of stress all the time, with some kind of looped thoughts in my head.
And these thoughts were something like this. I am not happy. But my golden years are passing, my 20s. I want to look back and remember them with love and pride. I have to do something interesting, I don't have any serious commitments yet. I'm richer, than ever. But I don't feel that happiness, which overwhelmed me, when i'm light, with one backpack on his back he traveled through South America. It's dumb.
I, like 95% my colleagues, couldn't call my job interesting. You don't play golf with the CEO, casually discussing business strategy, and then you don't get into your Lamborghini, so that in 15:30 go home and have sex with your hot girlfriend.
Not. You are sitting at the computer and you cannot even 5 sunbathe once a week. You are out of shape, you have bad skin. Are you tired, but you have another "office" dinner ahead of you. Only then can you call a taxi, which at one or two in the morning will take your lonely ass home, into a cold bed.
And in those rare moments, when you manage to have a meeting with a client without ties, you are not having a fascinating conversation with an interesting person. You talk about finance with some depressing office robot, who pretends, as if it matters to him, and more often he doesn't even pretend.
Certainly, occasionally I met people, who really got excited about "debt restructuring" and other financial mechanisms. But it only made me more depressed, recalling that, what nonsense am i doing. All this raised the question: why am I wasting my time on this (half of which I should have slept)?
'Cause you'll never be that rich, like those superstars, whom you admire, seeing them on TV or in the movies. Despite, that I was paid well, I couldn't buy myself a helicopter every week, flaunt in designer outfit, leave in the club 30 thousand a night or spend a weekend on some exotic island, wherever private jet takes me.
Your income is above average, but, Nevertheless, still pretty average. Certainly, you can buy a Macbook Air, without even thinking. You can take a taxi, not by bus. But I was amazed, how humble bank employees live.
They are painfully polite middle class people., there are no adventures and breathtaking prospects in their life. It's a bunch of nerds, trapped in a cage of money and greed, and they'll never get out of it.
Life must be something more, than all this.
In the end, I decided - to hell with the bank. The moment has come, when i stopped buying myself cool things, because they only increased the dependence on work, which I hated and which took more and more of my shortening life.
At university I worked hard, to have a good, successful and happy life. But I didn't find her in IBD. And they, who stood over me, - also did not find. Even the big bumps were actually miserable and uninteresting., and often just pathetic old fart.
I didn't want to become one of them. I wanted to be a bright personality, live with love in your heart. I wanted to be the one, who walks through life with passion, happiness and laughter, who is at risk, loves, путешествует, ищет, loses and searches again.
I was preparing my departure gradually. First started interviewing for other positions. Hedge Fund Analyst, personal stock analyst, дилерский broker, insurance agent, capital Management, sales, share trading. But it was all boring, as it meant spending your whole life at a computer desk. All this also meant a long working day. (perchance, a couple of hours shorter, than I had). None of this kindled a spark.
So I started looking for work in large corporations., in their finance teams. I went through a couple of interviews again, even got some job invitations. But it was all the same shit.
I didn't want to be a robot in a suit and tie. Fuck it all, Steven, to hell!
Finally, i broke. I was filled with anger. I left the office for 7 evenings, to prepare for the next interview, appointed for 8:30 morning. Это значило, that my partner will work until 5 morning. IN 8:00 I was not at the workplace - I was at the interview. It was stupidly another boring "opportunity" to work in debt refinancing at Tesco headquarters.. To hell! Enough with me. Finance is dead for me.
I came to work around 11 hours, and in 11:01 my partner was already dragging me to the "dark corner", to talk about, what slept in all 1,5 o'clock, and about, какой я чудак. She stated, what will complain to the bosses, and was about to go out. And I answered, that you shouldn't bother, - I will do everything myself.
I went to the boss and said, that's enough for me. I thanked him for that time, while we worked together. He reciprocated. We shook hands. After that, I packed my things and sent a farewell e-mail to my colleagues..
Through 20 minutes I left the office forever. Goodbye BlackBerry, goodbye pass, goodbye banking!
The sun never shone this bright, the air has never been so sweet, but I have never been so easy. I was free. СВОБОДЕН! I, черт побери, was so free, that he could even taste this heady feeling.
What have I done at this moment? Surprisingly, I went with a friend to the mall (Long story). While walking in one of the boutiques, I saw a piano. This was the one, what I need is to play a melody and relax.
I didn't even ask permission. Just walked in and started playing. A man immediately approached me, complimented me and asked, зачем я это делаю. I replied: "I am a musician" (why not?). He asked: "How much is your performance?». I replied: “£ 100 for 2 o'clock". The man hired me.
That's how easy I became a musician. I worked on 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, for almost the same money, what's in the bank.
I'll rewind a little: I left the store after a few weeks, as I understood, that I don't want to be "background", while someone is trying on a suit. I wanted to be the center of attention. Wanted to entertain the world. I wanted to give people music.
So one day I rolled the piano out into one of the busy streets of London and started playing. In a month I received 9 contract offers - I started recording my first album.
Another six months have passed. I travel the world. My album titled "Butterfly in A Hurricane" is on sale on 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, how many, as i thought, can't get a guy like that, like me. This is the most alive, what have i ever felt.
Working in a bank, I had to do that every day, what i hated, and hate yourself for being, What am I doing. I was a bad friend.
Now I do that, what I love, and I'm bursting with inspiration. Every day. Doing what you love, I make people around me happier, who are very kind to me. People open their hearts to me. And I reciprocate them.
I ride my piano around the world, giving love to the world. А любовь с каждым днем растет во мне все больше и больше. I never thought, that you can be so happy.
Fuck it - now I can't afford a Prada suit, but I greedily live every day, не могу дождаться, when morning comes. After all, in the morning I will have a vocal lesson and a meeting with a representative of the Coca-Cola company. (they want to see me as their advertising face).
I dont know, что будет в будущем (and I like it), но я знаю, that everything will be fine, because I am in control of my life.
23 years i've been pumping my brain, now i use it.
Why did I write this? I just wanted to reach out to those, who works in the banking sector, несчастен, but afraid to leave. I want to reach out to all the nerdy guys with great professional skills.. I want to reach everyone, who read this, and say: jump off the cliff and do that, что вы любите.
Maybe, you do not know, what is this, но не сомневайтесь – вы найдете свое дело. You can become anyone, because you deserve so much more, than being a tired office clerk.
Certainly, if this is your life's work and you are happy, - wonderful. I just share my experience. Banking did not bring me and most of those, who did I meet, Happiness.
Life is short - you're young, you are old, ты мертв. Remember this and take action! You got nothing to lose.
Love Stephen Ridley "
