This got me thinking about accomplishments and whether they can be defined not only by the attainment of a goal, but by the dismissal of one as well.  Instead of constructing dreams and hopes, can we also take pride in deconstructing paradigms?

We often see things not as they are, but as we are conditioned to see them.  Having always known a limited definition of success, I often failed to recognize the various achievements of others and sadly restricted my own possibilities. Even though my life is a patchwork of geographically diverse experiences, I have had a narrow and stale take on what one should aspire to become. 

And as I attempt to “uncondition” myself, I realize that I may never fully escape the trappings of Wall St.  But I am unabashed to say that I am proud to be parting with a job I had once put on a pedestal.

Sometimes the greatest accomplishments in life have nothing to do with attainment.  Sometimes they have everything to do with letting go.

I still believe that getting on to Wall St. is difficult, requiring many essential traits and a healthy dose of luck. However, I have barely taken a step down the road of entrepreneurship, and I have already been overwhelmed with many headache inducing questions:

How can we break in to the Chinese market and create a barrier of entry? Who has the experience to create a prototype? What is the best method of conducting research that can be FDA approved?

Brainstorming for a good idea is hard, executing it into a successful business is much harder. Unlike working for a large firm, there are no old pitch books to copy off of, no analysts to pile the grunt work on and no database to find answer from.

I am really starting to respect fellow classmates who dared to make their own path, people in the past I would have shrugged off as being unfit to make it on Wall St.