Daily Intent

Santa Barbara, CA
“I don’t really have much to confess, my life isn’t terrible, just not extraordinary.  I guess I am a product of my generation: being brought up to think I can save the world.  And I’m not doing that.” - Annonymous writer in response to the article “Welcome to Your Quarterlife Crisis.”

It is a curious experience that college grads aren’t forewarned about.  Waking up at the age of twenty-five or so and feeling utterly confused.   You are two to three years out of college. You more than likely have been an assistant to some successful agent in your field.  You are now beginning to earn more trust and responsibility.  As this happens, you begin to wonder if this is really what you want to be doing for the next 30 years.   It isn’t nearly as exciting or impactful as I once thought.   Do I really want to live out a life like Mary, my manager?

The bar life is beginning to get old and redundant.  The same faces.  The same shenanigans.  And Facebook weighs on your emotions.   Last names are changing, babies are being born. You are reminded of all the possibilities out there.  Every person showing their best to the world.  The Jones’ are doing more exciting things, going on adventures to Asia and Africa, building cool iPhone applications, getting interviewed by a national broadcast stations, being in magazines, job promotions or getting engaged.

You ask yourself, “Am I the only one that doesn’t have it figured out?”

The Quarterlife Crisis is described in the aforementioned article as being the, “Unrelenting indecision, isolation, confusion, and anxiety about working, relationships and direction reported by people in their mid-twenties to early thirties who are usually urban, middle class and well-educated; those who should be able to capitalize on their youth, unparalleled freedom and free-for-all individuation.  They can’t make any decisions, because they don’t know what they want, and they don’t know what they want because they don’t know who they are, and they don’t know who they are because they’re allowed to be anyone they want.”

Whereas your parents’ generation graduated, got a job, got married, had kids, made money, and stayed in the same career for the last thirties years.  They didn’t travel.  They weren’t told they were the class of 2000, a class that would change the world.  They didn’t have to fulfill community service hours to be part of the National Honor Society, all the while seeing the extreme poverty across the tracks.  There is responsibility in seeing this poverty.  Instead, they got a job, they made good money, and they passed it along to you.

The world is ours.  We can do whatever we want.   This can be quite overwhelming.  Because all along life we have been directed.  From elementary school you go to middle school; from middle school, high school; high school to college; college to a good industry which offers great experience.  But where from here?  No longer is there explicit directions.

Our attention span is growing shorter with all the internet distractions, text messages and up-to-the-minute information sources, but our career is asking us to stick with and plan out a path that would require us to stay the course for consecutive decades.  Am I capable?  Do I want to be capable?

The longest we’ve been anywhere, doing something remotely similar was elementary school, twenty years ago.  This was for six years and offered PE, Pogs, and recess to distract us from times tables and General Lee.

We put so much weight on our decisions today to determine the next 60 years of our life.  “How is my life going to turn out?  Is this it?  Maybe I should go to grad school.  It is true, the fun has come to an end.  Maybe I should just really focus on my career and work now.  And my girlfriend?  Will I only be with one person the rest of my life?” OR  “I’m not married.  Will I ever marry?  Will I ever have kids?  But I want to build a career.  I want to have fun.  I want to travel.”

Why I bring this all up is for those amidst the Quarterlife Crisis to recognize it, accept it, analyze it, appreciate it, and know that you aren’t alone and your life will amount to great things that you can look back upon twenty or thirty years from now and be proud of.  It may not resemble what you thought.  You may be single and have traveled the world or built up a community serving company or married and at home enjoying taking care of your kids, making sure they are healthy and well.  Whichever is okay and equally acceptable.

For the employers of these energetic, bright young, talents, you might spend some time getting to know their true wants and desires.  Ask questions.  Find ways to meet many of their needs.  Be flexible.  Maybe flexible work hours is all it takes or group projects or individual tasks.  Or offering twenty percent of their working hours be focused on creative ways to better the office or company.

Then you will have a Quarterlife benchmark where you really did start finding ways to use your new talents and resources to better the world.

…those that have been through the Quarterlife Crisis and made it out the other side, I would love to hear from you.  Please write me and share your experience.  Those in it, your story is equally valuable.  Write me this weekend. 
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PLAN
Catalyst for Thought.  MINDS executive lunch.  Next up, May 27th, Yulun Wang - Founder and President of InTouch Health and past founder of Computer Motion.  Both companies are leading the medical industry into the 21st Century.  Register at www.CatalystforThought.org to ensure you receive the registration emails.
Team in Training.  Bachelor and Bacherlorette Auction.  May 13th.  Canary Hotel.  Plan on bringing all your wealthy, single friends.  We’ll “auct”-ually have a great time.  http://www.sb2bauction.com
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LEARN
Buzzword: May Day
May Day “refers to May 1, 1975, when brokerages changed from a fixed commission for securities transactions to a negotiated one.  Previous to this, commissions were standard from broker to broker.

At the time, the majority of Wall Street felt that these changes would have little effect on their commissions.  However, shortly after the switch, Charles Schwab pioneered what are now known as discount brokerages, which charged much lower fees, and in some cases none at all - known as ‘no-advice’ accounts.  As a result, the number of individual investors expanded greatly.  This was the first step in the creation of the discount brokerage houses that we know today.”  -Investopedia.com

  Six Points to Ponder:

   1. Markets Singing Same Melody.  The Markets sang a few low notes, then followed them up with few happier higher notes, ending nearly flat on the week.  The Dow: Flat - 11,160. The S&P 500: Down - 1202.  The Nasdaq: UP - 2498.  Oil: UP - $86/bbl.
   2. Forever Flat.  The Federal Reserve maintained their stance on flat being the new black.   0 - 1/4 percent has been in style for quite some time and looks to remain this way until unemployment betters and higher inflation brings concern.
   3. Greek Goldmans.  Neither Greece nor Goldman Sachs had an enjoyable week.  Both continued to experience intense scrutiny from government officials.  The markets felt their ambiguous future outcomes.
   4. H-P.Palm? Hewlett-Packard wants to be in the Palm of your hand.   They purchased the struggling smartphone pioneer for $1.2Bn this week. Another giant from the tech industry puts resources into the phone business.
   5. Buffett’s Ball.  This weekend Warren Buffett and company, thousands of Berkshire Hathaway investors, including Bill Gates, will gather to share in entertainment and economics.
   6. Playoffs.  Magic, Celtics, and Cavs are all into round two.  Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Suns, all strong contenders have yet to find their way out of round one.  136th Kentucky Derby.  Looking at Lucky is 3-1 favorite.  Sidney’s Candy is 5-1 favorite.  Brother Nate will be reporting live from the infield. 

Positives:

    * GDP (Gross Domestic Product), solid corporate profits and waning jobless claims upheld the markets this week amidst Goldman and European scares.  GDP for the quarter showed a yearly pace over 3% as corporations began fattening up their inventories in expectation for increasing consumer demand.  Corporate profit news continued to build upon last week’s positives, with companies in the technology, energy, auto and food (to name a few) all satisfying investor expectations.
    * As boring as “flat” is, it is definitely a fashion that investors are appreciating right now.  They can base their decisions on a consistent trend of the Fed’s keep rates steady.  Think of it as a plain white tee.  It is simple.  It doesn’t wow.  But it is consistent.  You can place a good bet on it and not feel too vulnerable.  It is trust worthy. 
    * There is Microsoft, Apple, Google and now H-P all jockeying for position within the smartphone business.  All believe the world is moving toward a home filled with multiple technological devices speaking to each other.  Say goodbye to the current motherboard remotes and mini flat screens.  Might the smartphone coordinate them all?  If so, as a corporate tech giant, you need to be in the palm of the homeowner’s hand.  We consumers greatly benefit in the form of better products at lower prices.
    * Omaha this weekend will be flooded with people nerdy about Warren Buffett.  Over 35,000 people will be in attendance.  The experience will be described in next week’s MSR.  In the meantime, know it is an event worth visiting at some point before Warren passes along the torch.
    * The Lakers stomped on the Thunder in game 5 at home.  I’d be surprised if it went to game 7.  Artest has confidence.  Their defense may have figured out the best match-ups to keep the Thunder at bay.  Ladies, be understanding of your boyfriend or husband.  It’s playoff time.

Negatives:

    * Spain’s unemployment hit 20%.  Greece and Portugal had their long-term credit ratings slashed by Standard & Poor’s Corp Tuesday, Spain followed on Wednesday.  Though Greece and Portugal’s cuts were steeper and their ratings much worse, Spain is the fourth largest economy in the Euro zone.  Their outlook is negative.  This isn’t a good sign for Spain nor the European Union.  The growth prospects are grim.  The contention between investors is over whether these countries will be seen as too big to fail.  If they are, then their money is safe in these countries bonds.  Such bonds are paying extremely high interest rates given their risk grade and need to entice buyers.  One thing to remember is the silence before the crash in 2008.
    * U.S. home prices fell for the fifth consecutive month.  Though prices are still higher than last year at this time, the pressure of foreclosures and short-sales over the last many months has dampened seller’s ability to capitalize fully on heightened demand.  This statistic must be taken with a grain of salt.  Real estate at the moment is extremely location specific.  Some areas are all foreclosures and others 10 - 20%.  Consider this when deciding if buying is right for you.

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FEAT
If you have an example of accomplishing a feat never thought possible, please submit a short paragraph about it.  I’d like this section to continue encouraging us all to expand our breadth and depth of life experiences, accomplishments and understandings of oneself.  Be safe.  But be adventurous.
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Get Involved

Greg Mortenson Speaks at the Arlington
Where:  The Arlington Theatre
When: Tuesday, May 4th.  8pm.
Cost: $15
Why:  The author of “Three Cups of Tea” will come share his experiences with us all.
For other fun ideas, go to www.lovemikana.com

Live and Be Well,

Jeff Bochsler