Since I so boldly proclaimed that 2010 was gonna be "My year," here are the things I'll be doing in 2010 that will make it so:
1. Stock market, baby. Along with it being my year, it will be the Dow Jones's year, the NASDAQ's year, NYSE's year. I'm banking on it, and I have a nice E trade account that my parents started for me (thanks, guys) to start investing, and I've never been more excited about it. I just read Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even," and while I'm not following it like gospel or even agree with everything Cramer says in it, it does give me good basic knowledge about personal investing.
More specifically: 1. follow my stocks daily
2. read the financial news of the day
3. catch up on current events and how it affects capital markets
4. Research, research, research. ("I AM research).
2. Learn different languages. My dad knows Shanghainese, I watched "Flash Forward" and saw people speaking Japanese, I listen to strangers every day in LA conversing in Spanish. Any of these would be a good place to start, and I don't see why I can't at least pick up basic abilities in those languages. Definitely a marketable skill, unlike "ability to get distracted by sports talk radio easily while driving on the road."
3. Go to different businesses in LA, meet people. Los Angeles will most likely be the market I will be working in the foreseeable future, and I gotta use my resources to enhance my job prospects. As Career Services at USC keeps telling me, "you gotta be creative in this job market."
4. Volunteer: Ever since my Alternative Spring Break days at Illinois, I haven't been as dedicated to community service as I should be. Last year was a wash; I didn't have much spare time and was constantly under stress. Halfway through law school, I feel like I can balance my time between academics and other things, and I don't think I will ever have another Friday class. Plenty of time to give my time to others, and it's one of the things I actually do well.
5. No more gambling trips: Find other forms of entertainment. One of my only vices is to play card games for money, and that can be thwarted by strong discipline. Law school is already a gamble (albeit a solid one in terms of investing for my career/life), but a lot of money's already tied up in it. Don't need anymore wastefulness.
6. More risk-taking: An example of tenativeness last year was not going to the Big Brother Casting Call 15 miles away in Hollywood. Really regret that unfortunate decision. I'm always reminded of Dorothy Hui's story, the winner of The Mole 2. She was 24 (around my age) and went with her roommate to The Mole casting call, got stuck in line, was running late to another event, so she considered leaving, but other people there urged her to stay. She did the taping, got on The Mole, and the rest is $1 million history. Hold nothing back; put it al ut there this year and you can really go far.
7. Learn to cook some dishes: Not talking Emerill-type dishes here, but maybe make a steak at some point, chicken parmesan, something that requires boiling, frying, or grilling rather than tearing open, putting it on a plate, and then inserting into microwave.
But of course, all of this is nothing compared to the overall health of my family and everyone's well-being. That's the ultimate gift of all. I encourage everyone to strive for their goals in the New Year, but always keep your family and loved ones in mind.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1. Stock market, baby. Along with it being my year, it will be the Dow Jones's year, the NASDAQ's year, NYSE's year. I'm banking on it, and I have a nice E trade account that my parents started for me (thanks, guys) to start investing, and I've never been more excited about it. I just read Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even," and while I'm not following it like gospel or even agree with everything Cramer says in it, it does give me good basic knowledge about personal investing.
More specifically: 1. follow my stocks daily
2. read the financial news of the day
3. catch up on current events and how it affects capital markets
4. Research, research, research. ("I AM research).
2. Learn different languages. My dad knows Shanghainese, I watched "Flash Forward" and saw people speaking Japanese, I listen to strangers every day in LA conversing in Spanish. Any of these would be a good place to start, and I don't see why I can't at least pick up basic abilities in those languages. Definitely a marketable skill, unlike "ability to get distracted by sports talk radio easily while driving on the road."
3. Go to different businesses in LA, meet people. Los Angeles will most likely be the market I will be working in the foreseeable future, and I gotta use my resources to enhance my job prospects. As Career Services at USC keeps telling me, "you gotta be creative in this job market."
4. Volunteer: Ever since my Alternative Spring Break days at Illinois, I haven't been as dedicated to community service as I should be. Last year was a wash; I didn't have much spare time and was constantly under stress. Halfway through law school, I feel like I can balance my time between academics and other things, and I don't think I will ever have another Friday class. Plenty of time to give my time to others, and it's one of the things I actually do well.
5. No more gambling trips: Find other forms of entertainment. One of my only vices is to play card games for money, and that can be thwarted by strong discipline. Law school is already a gamble (albeit a solid one in terms of investing for my career/life), but a lot of money's already tied up in it. Don't need anymore wastefulness.
6. More risk-taking: An example of tenativeness last year was not going to the Big Brother Casting Call 15 miles away in Hollywood. Really regret that unfortunate decision. I'm always reminded of Dorothy Hui's story, the winner of The Mole 2. She was 24 (around my age) and went with her roommate to The Mole casting call, got stuck in line, was running late to another event, so she considered leaving, but other people there urged her to stay. She did the taping, got on The Mole, and the rest is $1 million history. Hold nothing back; put it al ut there this year and you can really go far.
7. Learn to cook some dishes: Not talking Emerill-type dishes here, but maybe make a steak at some point, chicken parmesan, something that requires boiling, frying, or grilling rather than tearing open, putting it on a plate, and then inserting into microwave.
But of course, all of this is nothing compared to the overall health of my family and everyone's well-being. That's the ultimate gift of all. I encourage everyone to strive for their goals in the New Year, but always keep your family and loved ones in mind.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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