Here’s a super fun podcast I did called Kind of Obsessed. I loved talking with Sara and Katie – and it definitely didn’t feel like any other podcasts I’d been on before. Take a listen Kind of Obsessed Podcast

I’m so grateful for all the people who’ve helped me along in my journey. Not to be overly dramatic, but I should be dead. I used to do lines of cocaine that were so long I needed to shuffle my feet just to finish them. I loved cocaine-like Leonardo loved Rose in Titanic. Drinking was my side piece. I couldn’t stop. And I didn’t want to stop because I genuinely believed that it was going to be different the next time. After a rough night, I’d surrender for a few hours or perhaps even a day. I might even swear off drinking and drugging forever. I’m NEVER doing that again! Ever! And then a day later, I’d convince myself that the next time—yes—the next time—it was going to be different. I could control it. I’d only do a certain amount, or I’d stop at a specific time, and everything would be fine, but it rarely ever was fine. And I collected this data for a long time. I kept believing my lie, and I kept on using. If you’re relapsing every other day—that’s just called using. It wasn’t until I started getting honest with myself that I could even attempt sobriety. I was full of shit. It was never going to be different the next time I used. Not only that, it was going to get worse. Early on, I was told the only requirement was a desire to stop using, but my only desire was to make my problems go away. It took me a while to realize that the two were synonymous. Today, I don’t have to be sober; I get to be sober. It’s a choice. And it took what it took, two rehabs, multiple outpatients, loss of jobs, money, house, family court, and loss of self-respect. But I got it all back. So, no matter where you are on your journey, I promise you it can be done, and there are good times ahead. For me, the only way it’ll be different the next time—is if there isn’t a next time. Again, thank you to everyone who’s supported and loved me. I did not do this alone.

I was very honored to be asked to give my first TEDx Talk in Hickory, North Carolina. I’ve always believed that IF I got x THEN I would feel y. And I was always wrong. It’s a lesson that took several decades for me to learn, but I’m so grateful that I did.

A formal degree might be a necessity for most entry-level jobs on Wall Street… but the real Wall Street education comes from experience.

As a young, naïve man, I moved to New York City in a U-Haul truck with America’s Moving Adventure – Maine! written on the side. It was 1994, and I was wearing L.L. Bean boots and a flannel shirt when I arrived in the City.

Shortly thereafter, I accidentally got a job on Wall Street.

As a B student with a journalism degree and a 970 SAT score, I was an unlikely candidate for Wall Street success. I was an unlikely candidate for Wall Street mediocrity. I had to figure it out as I went along. And one of the many things I didn’t know when I first walked through the revolving doors of Morgan Stanley was that my education was just getting started.

Right out of the gate, I was out-connected, out-degreed, and out-experienced.

https://americanconsequences.com/the-unexpected-upside-of-a-wall-street-education/

In financial markets, the connotation of the word “volatility” changes depending on where you’re hanging out. If you’re at a midtown Manhattan happy hour on a Thursday firing back a third scotch on the rocks – volatility sounds like a great thing. But if you’re drinking beer with a doctor, an accountant, and an insurance agent at a backyard barbeque in the suburbs – well, it doesn’t feel so great.

Typically, traders love volatility and investors hate it…

For traders, volatility creates far more opportunities to “scalp” a quick trade. Stocks move intraday, and they can get in and out, making money.

But for investors, it makes it much more painful to hold on to smart investments. It can sometimes even force positions to get closed out prematurely. That usually results in generating a loss or no gain, even if the idea ultimately proved correct.

Regardless of your opinion on volatility, the one thing we can say for sure is that it’s back.

https://americanconsequences.com/ups-downs-of-volatility/

A lot of hedge funds have missed the trade in China – here’s why…

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