I don't feel like a wealthy person. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman Brothers. I haven't changed.
Interpretation
True wealth is not just about money; it’s about how one perceives themselves and their achievements.
In this quote, Stephen A. Schwarzman expresses the idea that regardless of his financial status or the perception of others, he still feels the same as he did during his early career. It highlights the notion that success does not solely equate to wealth, but rather to a continual journey and the mindset one maintains throughout their life.
In practice
Using this quote in a motivational speech about maintaining humility despite success.
I have a saying: There are no brave old people in finance. Because if you're brave, you mostly get destroyed in your 30s and 40s. If you make it to your 50s and 60s and you're still prospering, you have a very good sense of how to avoid problems and when to be conservative or aggressive with your investments.
Ironically, when a bunch of very smart people are sitting around a table for hours trying to figure out whether they should do something, that tends to not necessarily lead to the best results.
Sometimes, success in life is knowing one's limitations.
The biggest mistake I've seen people make with their careers is, when they're good, after two or three years - and they happen to be smart - they announce that they're going out to start their own firm.
Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.
My career got off to a very shaky start when I dropped out of school at the age of 18. Despite my lack of academic credentials, I got a job as a fashion assistant at 'Harper's & Queen.'
The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind. Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of the others?
If my efforts have led to greater success than usual, this is due, I believe, to the fact that during my wanderings in the field of medicine, I have strayed onto paths where the gold was still lying by the wayside. It takes a little luck to be able to distinguish gold from dross, but that is all.
Become a millionaire not for the million dollars, but for what it will make of you to achieve it.
I was lucky enough to co-found a business in college that ended up with 400 employees, and I launched 20 different projects while I was there - a project a week.
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