Soo Jin Park - Precisely How to Live: A Wall Street Bankers Playbook for Success, Values, and Joy

Precisely

How to Live

A Wall Street Bankers Playbook for Success, Values, and Joy

Soo Jin Park

Copyright 2020 by Soo Jin Park

All right reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author does not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Table of Contents

Preface

Why I write this book?

W

hen I was in high school, college, and early part of my career, I frequently sought advice from my parents with respect to career, success, money, friendships, among other topics. Candidly, the responses I received from them werent adequate nor practical to me. It wasnt because my parents were uneducated or negligent they certainly cared for me and went to top universities at a time when allegedly only ten percent of the Korean population pursued an undergraduate degree due to the aftermath of the Korean war. Now I realize that they simply couldnt provide helpful advice because they have lived through a totally different era than me, when success as parents meant to properly feed their children and send them to schools. They never had the abundance of job opportunities nor the wealth and freedom to travel around the world that we do today. Thus, it was impossible for them to advise me on the flurry of questions I had regarding my career, success, wealth, and so forth. For them, spending thirty years at the same company that they had started out with, working as hard as possible to make a living for the family, and saving most of the income was life; everything else was just luxury. Now that Ive come to understand them and the circumstances they were surrounded with, Im extremely gratified with the endless effort they put into raising me, though I must admit I was a bit disappointed back then when their responses (or lack thereof) werent helpful to me.

I therefore initially wrote this book for my son in reminiscence of the questions I had asked my parents back then, so I could prepare myself to adequately respond to him when he asks me the same types of questions. Though by the time hes able to read this book, the things and context I refer to in this book may be outdated (e.g., investment banking may not even exist when hes twenty years old), I still think the concepts, messages, and values will resonate with him. To be as succinct as possible and as my initial plan was to give this book to him only, Ive framed these lessons in the form of letters to my child. When I completed writing this book though, I thought, why would I not share these valuable life lessons that Ive accumulated over a long period of time with others? I figured that these pieces of wisdom could help shape anyones values and address questions that you (the reader) may have, or you find difficult to respond to when your kids ask. So, I decided to publish this book, hoping that you can benefit from these sixteen life lessons as well. Id be honored if you could relate to these lessons and learn from my mistakes, thoughts, beliefs, realizations, and actions. And if this book is helpful to you or your children, please spare a few minutes to leave a review as it is tremendously rewarding and motivating to authors like me.

Who am I to give you advice?

Im a Wall Street investment banker with prior experience in hedge funds, management consulting, and the Army. Ive lived in three different countries (the U.S., Germany, and Korea) for at least eight years in each, attending both public and private schools. The set of friends that surrounded me ranged from a girl who received a Porsche wrapped in pink ribbons for her eighteenth birthday to someone who was ecstatic that he had made enough money to buy marijuana for his mother as a birthday present. I myself have delivered newspapers, mowed the lawn of others, and bartended for a few bucks; more recently, Ive led the execution of complex, multibillion-dollar M&A transactions. I value the range of experiences that have shaped me to date and view that as a strength of mine.

Who should read this book?

If you are someone who has more questions than answers around life, success, career, values, love, and friendships, then I promise that these sixteen life lessons will point you in the right direction. If you constantly ask yourself why life is so painful, why others seem so much better off, why nothing gives you happiness or fulfillment, and why you cant get what you want even though you think you deserve it, keep reading. If you are interested in finance, investment banking or management consulting, youll find this book extremely interesting and helpful as youll get a better sense of what its like being in those professions, but that doesnt mean it precludes others who are pursuing (or considering the pursuit of) a different career path, as the lessons themselves are applicable to any other profession as well. Finally, if you are a parent or expecting to be one and would like to equip yourself with some pragmatic advice for your children on how to make the most out of their lives, read this book and present it to them as a gift. This book isnt about the specifics on how to get into Wall Street (though I do reflect on my experiences throughout the book on how I became an investment banker), but more about what your values should be, what success means and how to measure your self-worth, what to make of money and how to use it wisely, and how to live a more joyful and fulfilling life.

Why youll like this book?

Youll like this book because the advice I give is practical, succinct, thought-provoking, but not sugarcoated or deceitful as, you may recall, its directed to my sonI wouldnt want to mislead my own child by any means, would I? The lessons youll read come from someone who has lived in different cultures, worked at multiple leading institutions, befriended both the filthy rich and the drug addicts, and is extremely passionate about giving advice apparent in my recent accomplishment of becoming an adjunct faculty at New York University. I reflect on the same types of questions that I asked my parents in the past, and provide specific and pragmatic responses, drawing from real life examples that Ive personally experienced. To make the lessons more actionable for you, Ive divided the book into three easy-to-follow chapters: OKWhats fine doing, DoWhat you should be doing, and DontWhat you shouldnt be doing. So, trust me, youll find this book memorable, to say the least, entertaining, thought-provoking, and helpful to live a more successful and fulfilling life.

Special thanks to

I thank my wife (Christine) and my mom the most for their unconditional love and support. Id also like to extend my appreciation to Alan L., Jason L., John P., and Katherine S. for not only reviewing an early draft of this book and providing insightful feedback, but also always being there for me when sad, happy, and everything in between.