Morgan Stanley

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ah8eYB6gH1.k&refer=home

Obama...

Once in a lifetime it seems like one candidate can transcend party lines, and that man is Obama. Even during this run, these debates, the election, this man seems different. Now on the eve of his inauguration there's been in a buzz in the air for the last week. So many of my peers have actually went to DC to be a part of history, to party with history. All the stars performing, everyone caring. It seems like Obama is taking the apathy away from our generation, making us care about politics, about what goes on this nation, about what goes on in the world. And for this, whether you're a republican or democrat, you have to be thankful to this man.

Timing, fate, destiny, and friends...

I hate when people say "everything happens for a reason" as if to say we are victims, that we are helpless, that this world is not up to us, that our world is not up to us. They find comfort in the thought that there's a GOOD reason for everything. It reminds me of when people use relgion as a crutch. Now I'm christian don't get me wrong, but many people use their religion as something that it's just not. That's a whole other topic. Now when someone becomes fat, did that happen for a reason? Probably lack of exercise and poor diet, or maybe some chemical malfunction their body. Yes, that was a reason, but not a good reason... Oh me and so and so broke up everything happens for a reason, oh and then he cheated on me, everything happens for a reason, oh but then i got pregnant so we decided to give it a shot, everything happens for a reason, oh and now he's in prison, but i met a new guy i've yet to breat it to him, everything happens for a reason, that is insane. reasons break up=didn't get a long, cheated on you=poor morals character, pregnancy=sperm did it's job, prison=who knows, let's be optimistic wrong place wrong time... moving on. Now on to fate, fate's a much tougher topic for me. How could you argue that it was Martin Luther's fate to fight for civil rights, or Mother Teresa's fate to help the world, or Ghandi's fate to lead his people. Some may agree or disagree that it was their fate, but beyond that, one may argue that they still had to perform the necessary actions on their part to fulfill it. Napoleon Hill would say it was their blue flame that made them achieve these heights, "The Secret" would claim it was through the "law of attraction" or the power of positive thinking, Calvin Coolidge was state it was their perseverance, Calvinists would believe they were pre-destined to do this. I do believe in fate to some extent, the same way I believe in religion. I believe God acts as an absentee landlord, as stated in "The Devil's Advocate". He's there, but he doesn't control you, you have free will, he knows what you do, he knows what you're going to do, but he doesn't interfere in your life, because the minute he does, it's like touching a butterflies wings, once we touch them they will never be able to fly again, so goes freewill. Fate, I believe will only bring you so far, it is up to you to do the rest. And it's much more your belief of fate, or the actions you do, rather your determination to follow what you believe in, or as Napoleon Hill would say your blue flame. Timing i do believe is everything, if not everything 95% crucial to our lives. Not to say that it always works for you, it could work against you, either way it changes your life dramatically, it alters your whole journey. Missing that car wreck by 5 seconds, coming in third, graduating in a specific year. A job offer, an engagement, a decision, time plays a key role in all of these. Where are you at in your life? Where is your partner at? Are you ready for it? Did somebody else get their first? For me it was deciding at the last minute to go into the james madison college at MSU, meeting jt, panda, and rivva... now if i lived on another floor i'm sure i'd have made different friends, but because of this i'm friends with them. A random walk home from a party, and meeting will playing with the night owl, deciding to rush the fraternity my sophomore year and being in m2's pledge class, getting home 2o minutes later and the girls smoked all the weed, then getting drug tested the very next week for my internship, that would've been my first time smoking it, glad i never did. Becoming an RA my junior year, instead of moving off campus. my job offer from merrill right before the recession, bank of america buying us soon after, starting at EJ when i did, in a good market, i couldn't imagine starting in a market like we have now. As with me, as with anybody I think timing is everything. But also reaction, how you react to things. It's not your act, it's your reaction that defines who you are. A perfect movie, a case in point, would be "Butterfly Effect." I heard "Sliding Doors" had the same theme, but it wasn't that good. I'll have to watch it one day. Lest me digress...