Preferred Shares - USA ETF

Dec. 7, 2019

Introduction

It is one more financial product I like to learn. I read the article from the blog here, and I like to write down one single concept to learn. 

ETF preferred stock

In America, the biggest ETF is the iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF named PFF, but there are a few others, including ones that deliberately bias towards Fixed or Floating issuers.

Name	Ticker	Current Yield	MER	Type of Share
iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF	PFF	5.5%	0.47%	Both
PowerShares Preferred Portfolio	PGX	5.66%	0.51%	Fixed
PowerShares Variable Rate Preferred Portfolio	VRP	3.95%	0.5%	Floaters

This couple retired in their early 40s using the FIRE method

Here is the article.

Understanding TD preferred shares

Dec. 7, 2019

Introduction

It is time for me to understand one more financial product. It is called TD preferred shares. 

All types

Preferred Shares are also more complicated than common shares. Each issue has it’s own different set of rules, so even two different issues of Preferreds from the same company may have wildly different behaviors, which is why each issue trades under a different symbol on the market. Here’s TD Bank’s Preferred Share issue, which they label as “Class A Preferred Shares, Series Q” and trades under the symbol TD.PRQ.CA.

Generally, there are three different types of Preferred Shares:

1. Perpetuals. These pay a fixed rate dividend that never changes.
2. Floaters. Floating Preferreds pay a dividend rate that’s pegged as a premium to interest rates. So if a Floater is issued at a 3% premium and current interest rates are at 2%, then the Preferred would pay 5%.
3. Fixed Rate Resets. These are hybrids of the above two. They pay a fixed rate for 5 years, and then reset based on interest rates like Floaters.

Why is this important? Perpetuals are more like traditional bonds and will go up in price if interest rates drop. Conversely, they will go down in price if interest rates rise. Floaters and Fixed Rate Resets will do the opposite. They will do well in a rising interest rate environment, and do worse in a falling one.

THE YIELD SHIELD: PREFERRED SHARES

Here is the article.

When you’re accumulating, bonds’ job is to reduce portfolio volatility because they tend to move in opposite directions with equities. However, with interest rates so low, as an income-producing asset, they don’t pay too well. As of the time of this writing, the Canadian Vanguard Bond ETF VAB has a 12-month trailing yield of 2.8%. Not only that, with interest rates on the rise, we can expect bond prices to get lower over time, which double-sucks. So what should we use instead?

Shunning home ownership leads to early retirement

Here is the link.

Kristy Shen

blogger, millennial-revolution.com

Retirement Inequality Chartbook The State of American Retirement How 401(k)s have failed most American workers

Dec. 6, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I believe that knowledge is power. The more I learn, the more I earn. I have to invest time to read the article, and learn some basics first.

401 K report

Here is the article.

Here’s how much the average American family has saved for retirement

Here is the article.

In fact, “nearly half of families have no retirement account savings at all,” the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported.

Just how much has the average American family saved up? According to the EPI, the mean retirement savings of all families is $95,776.

90% of Americans don’t like to cook—and it’s costing them thousands each year

Here is the article.

It’s easier than ever not to cook, and Americans are taking advantage of that. The average household spends an average of $3,008 per year on dining out, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

However, what you save in convenience, you lose in cold, hard cash.

For those with the means to spend an exorbitant amount on food, this epidemic might not register as an issue. But the majority of Americans can’t afford such a costly habit — not when it comes at the expense of being unprepared for an emergency, or, worse, having nothing left for retirement.

Five easy ways you can save yourself $1,000 in three months

Here is the article.


First, track your spending

Anaglog types can use a small notebook. Spreadshee types can use Excel. Personal finance apps like Mint or Personal Capital are also good methods.

Low-hanging fruit

Now you're cooking

Cut our or at least cut down severely on those restaurant meals and snacks.

One person's trash...

Up your contributions

These people made some stomach-churning financial mistakes

Here is the article.

A misguided loan

Ashley Patrick, 34, regrets a 401(k) plan loan she and her husband took. The couple, who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, wanted money for a home remodeling project, and it seemed like a sensible strategy.

They were years from retirement. They had one child and were expecting a second, and they needed the extra space. Her husband’s coworkers, who seemed financially savvy, said it was a perfectly reasonable option.

Things snowballed, and not in a good way.

The first problem: The couple didn’t fully understand the loan. Patrick assumed it would use the 401(k) account as collateral – instead of an actual withdrawal. She was shocked to see that the account balance had dipped by $25,000.

Then, about a year into making payments, Patrick’s husband was laid off – and informed he had 30 days to pay back the outstanding balance. That amounted to nearly $20,000, a large sum to have to suddenly come up with. They could not do it.

Since they did not repay the loan on time, the IRS counted it as income, boosting their bottom line on the following year’s tax return. They wound up with an unexpectedly large tax bill.

The couple decided to put the remainder on a 0 percent interest balance transfer credit card. They threw all their muscle into paying it off in 18 months. “I didn’t know a lot, till it all happened to me,” Patrick said.

For people who find themselves also regretting a debt they took on, Patrick recommends paying it off as quickly as possible.

Silver lining: Patrick determined to educate herself about her finances, and today she blogs about her expertise on her own personal finance site, where she helps other people get a grip on their money.

Actionable Items

IRS, 401 K is not a good option to borrow money from. The tax is the issue if it cannot be paid back.

I’ve been in finance for 30 years. Here are the biggest end-of-year money mistakes I see people making

Here is the link.

The Biggest Lie In Investing That You Believe In | TEDx Talk

Here is the link.

Actionable Items

Learn how to calculate the index number. I got into stock market in June 2019, S & P 500 Index 2900, now Dec. 7, 2019 it is 3150. 

Based on the above graph from 2008 crash, 2009 stock go up 60%, index value is from 700 to 1000. 

Is it time to exit stocks?

Here is the article published on Oct. 11, 2014.

After the worst stock market drop of the year, plenty of people wonder if it's time to sell. The argument goes something like this: The S&P 500 is up nearly 200% since it bottomed out in early 2009. There hasn't been a correction since 2011, let alone a true "bear market" where things really drop. Surely it's time to exit...

But here's the truth: Most of us are better off doing nothing.

My most favorite topic 

4) Get a long-term plan and stick to it. 

If you are worried about the stock market right now, the best use of your time is to make sure you have the right plan.

Do you have the right mix of stocks and bonds and other assets?

"The typical long-term investor who has most of his or her investments in a retirement account of some sort needs to a) have a plan and b) stick with the plan," says Timmer.

From time to time, investors should look at their portfolios and ask if they need to rebalance. Given the phenomenal rise of equities since March of 2009, it's possible that you need to trim your stock allocation a bit.

But be wary of throwing out the entire game plan. Stocks still give the best return by far over the long run.

As humans, we worry a lot about those down days. But we forget that the bigger risk is missing the upswings.

【央视纪录片】《华尔街》第05集：硅谷方程

Here is the link.

以硅谷为代表的美国高科技公司、高科技产业的崛起帮助美国实现了产业升级，实现了经济可持续发展。如果说硅谷创造了美国的现在，那么又是谁创造了硅谷的现在？硅谷对世界科技具有巨大影响且久盛不衰，令人禁不住要问一声：硅谷有何奥秘？在这里我们将以硅谷为例揭示华尔街在科技创新、科技产业化以及加速产业升级过程中发挥的重要作用，探讨市场经济条件下产业升级到底要靠什么？政府、市场、企业、资本家、科学家如何分工。

【央视纪录片】《华尔街》第06集：投资之道 (720p.HDTV)

Here is the link.

早期的华尔街是富人俱乐部，投资对于普通人而言望尘莫及，在此后的200年时间里，从19世纪妇女投资群体的出现，到1967年第一位女交易员，美国的投资文化逐渐遍及普通家庭。 道琼斯指数的出现第一次为投资者提供了投资信息，此后诞生了一系列重要的投资方法，技术分析，价值投资，指数投资，人们从混沌的股票市场中，总结出投资之道，也诞生了如巴菲特这样的投资大师。 然而各种投资方法带来收益的同时也面临着不同风险，在学习大师的同时，对风险的承受力，更是投资者必须考量的因素。

- comments

道琼斯创造了道琼斯平均工业指数，这个指数可以代表整个股市的涨跌。凯恩斯提出了选美理论。格雷厄姆发明了价值投资，我们需要通过购买被低估的股票盈利。沃伦.巴菲特就是格雷厄姆的最优秀的学生之一。 经历过1929年大萧条，诸多个人投资者的失败让他们意识到他们需要更专业的投资机构来替他们做出正确的投资决策。于是， 美国的投资模式从个体投资者转变为专业机构投资者。

【央视纪录片】《华尔街》第01集：资本无眠

Here is the link.

华尔街是美国资本市场和经济实力的象征，它早已不是一个单纯的地理名词。现在，绝大多数金融机构与这条500米长的街道不再发生直接的物理关联，华尔街人也完全成为了一种精神归属，资本已经进入无眠时代。不仅是2008年席卷全球的金融风暴，贪婪与疯狂似乎是上天专门为华尔街设下的魔咒，它始终弥漫在华尔街的每一处空间。华尔街在不断为他人创造着财富，但又在不断地剥夺着他人的财富，华尔街在固守着自己的生存法则，但又在不断冲破传统的束缚。华尔街是矛盾的结合体，它在自身双面性的较量中，不断遭到毁灭，又不断得到重生。

20 Largest Holdings in the S&P 500 (AAPL,AMZN,FB)

Here is the link.

Top 5 Zaha Hadid Building Projects | The B1M

Here is the video.

Code screen project review

Dec. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is such great project to work on. I had to prepare online code screen hosted on hackerrank.com. I pushed myself to practice two mock interview on leetcode.com, and also wrote a post for each algorithm. The preparation was so different, since I could not believe my eye to read those performance.

Preparation

I had to push myself work hard. Last week I spent time to watch videos from youtube.com related to personal finance research. I took risk and did not study at all until I spent time to work on code screen Sunday afternoon. I spent time to relax Sunday, played tennis, and then worked on code screen.

I did work on two mock interview on Leetcode for code screen, surprisingly two times I solved all algorithms. I wrote six posts to share my practice with my performance of mock interview. I just could not believe that what is happening, this is the real performance, am I memorizing those algorithms?

Here are those algorithms I practice. I will show the link here.

210 Course schedule II, my post is here. 
207 Course schedule, my post is here. 
124. Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum, here is my post. (50 views, Dec. 4, 2019 9:29 PM)
239. Sliding Window Maximum, here is my post. 
69. Sqrt(x), here is my post. 
117. Populating Next Right Pointers in Each Node II, here is my post. 

Code screen

I learned from the phone screen. My understanding of problem was not so good, I came cross the bug since I did not notice that there is a uniqueness requirement in the problem statement. I also spent 5 minutes to simplify my logic to write if statement. I spent 55 minutes to take the test.

Next day I was notified that I passed the online code screen. I got a phone screen. 

Count down days for last phone screen in 2019

Dec. 4, 2019

Introduction

It was so surprising that I took code screen from dialpad on Sunday, December 1, 2019. It was three hour test, but only one algorithm. I was so nervous since I still remembered that I could not pass December 2018 Indeed.com Japan code screen, there are five algorithms. I failed one Amazon code screen in march, passed Amazon code screen in May, and then I passed Microsoft code screen in May as well.

Code screen

I learned from the phone screen. My understanding of problem was not so good, I came cross the bug since I did not notice that there is a uniqueness requirement in the problem statement. I also spent 5 minutes to simplify my logic to write if statement. I spent 55 minutes to take the test.

I have to push myself work hard. Last week I spent time to watch videos from youtube.com related to personal finance research. I took risk and did not study at all until I spent time to work on code screen Sunday afternoon. I spent time to relax Sunday, played tennis, and then worked on code screen.

I did work on two mock interview on Leetcode for code screen, surprisingly two times I solved all algorithms. I wrote six posts to share my practice with my performance of mock interview. I just could not believe that what is happening, this is the real performance, am I memorizing those algorithms?

Here are those algorithms I practice. I will show the link here.

Phone screen

I will have to spend time to work on a few algorithms, so I can share with community how to solve Leetcode algorithms.

Follow up 

Jan. 30, 2020

I wrote an answer on quora.com, and I used one of two mock interviewes I did to prepare Dialpad code screen/ phone screen.  Here is the link.

潘石屹：跑步是和自己的思考和对话！

Here is the article.

55岁的潘石屹，现在有三件大事儿，第一是跑步，第二是微博，第三才是赚钱。这位高高在上的老板在50岁时选择了跑步。潘石屹说：“我之所以选择跑步，是因为这是一个非常简单的运动，只需要一个人。就连羽毛球、乒乓球这些也需要两个人。我跑步的时候，可以自己静下心来，思考自己的事情。一边跑一边思考，自己跟自己对话。”

2012年，潘石屹50岁，坐拥200亿元身家，吃得好，穿得好，住得好，常常坐在舒适的沙发上，工作上也没有什么太操心的事，一切都得到的太容易。状态就是一个五十多岁的中国商人。

但是，这种平庸的生活状态让潘石屹感到不安。潘石屹说，他相信村里老人常说的那句话：“种瓜得瓜种豆得豆”，得到太容易就会不珍惜，最后必然失去。少年时，那段吃苦的岁月成为了潘石屹一段美好的回忆，五十岁后，他决定行动起来，重新做一些“吃苦”的事情。

坚持跑步，因为意识到了“中年危机”

潘石屹的健身教练叫Tony，中文名字叫倪腾。三年前，潘石屹经时任美国驻华大使骆家辉介绍，认识了明星教练Tony。

Tony收“学生”有个原则，只肯教那些希望改变自己人生的学生。潘石屹回忆与Tony第一次见面的场景，当时的他身材臃肿得很，体重达到了79公斤。

作为中国最富有的女人之一，她狂爱跑步，月跑量150公里，还完成过马拉松

Here is the article.

什么？！20公里1小时10分钟？！要知道，业余选手半程马拉松（21公里）能跑进1小时20分钟已经属于顶尖水平。而针对专业选手，目前的女子20公里世界纪录也在1小时3分钟左右。对比来看，张欣所说的1小时10分钟跑完20公里，确实有点让人瞠目结舌。

她是中国最富有的女人之一：

2015年胡润女富豪榜，以财富195亿元，排名第八；

2015年9月上榜《财富》杂志亚太最具影响力的25位商界女性；

2014年2月上榜《财富》杂志全球最具影响力的50位商界女性；

2012年入围福布斯2012全球权势女性榜百强排名第42……

比起财富，更让张欣迷恋的，却是跑步。

10 things I like to learn from Zhang Xin - top 5 richest woman in the world

Dec. 4, 2019

Introduction

I know that it will happen starting from day one I opened my coding blog. I know that I will show up with biggest surprise, mistakes, failure since ignorance, lack of good research, good faith of Christian belief. One thing is that I just spent a few hours in my life first time to learn SOHO as a business, Zhang Xin as a successful business woman of my age.

10 things I like to learn from Zhang xin

I just could not believe that I started to follow wechat articles from my friend, Apple manager Dr. Guo Linfeng. I came cross the article he shared, so I looked into, and I decided to look into those articles. What I did is to send those articles to my gmail first, and then look up one by one, who are those people.

Dec. 9, 2019 12:53 AM
I like to write 10 things I like to learn. I thought about a few times, I am not so sure what are the most important ones. Let me think about later.

Dec. 12, 2019 12:22 AM
1. First thing is that she worked hard five years from 15 years old to 20 years old, so she understood that life is tough, work full time with low pay makes life more tough in early age. She was able to save money. Compared to her, I could not save money, I wasted on clothing and TV etc., from 1984 to 1996.
2. Second thing is that she can compete and got scholarship for Oxford university master degree. I did apply Oxford university in 1996 but I did not get anything.
3. Third thing is that she competed best job in Goldman Saches. She still looked for better one in her 28 years old.
4. She definitely is smart and a good learner. She chose a good person to be husband, and also chose to start a company who went to public as well. A lot of smart ideas behind her business SOHU.
5. She did show a lot of records how she succeeded. She did very good talk on all kinds of presentation, interviews.
...

Zhang Xin, China's Self-Made Real Estate Billionaire | Forbes

Here is the link.

She tried a few years before 2007. It did not work. She could not figure out what she could do to make it work.

until 2007 - real estate in China - US investors understand and it worked out.

Creativity

Create a building from nothing - Just exciting ...

Treat every one as friends

Dec. 4, 2019

Introduction

It is the idea I learn from Pan shiyi. I like to think about this idea, treat every one as friends. How can I do that?

Lessons from SOHO China's 20 Year Journey

Here is the link.

CEO Zhang Xin Presents SOHO China's 2013 Annual Resuts

Here is the link.

(4 March, 2014, Hong Kong) SOHO China Ltd., Stock Code: HK410 announces today the Company's annual results for the period beginning January 1, 2013 and ended 31 December 2013. SOHO China achieved outstanding financial results over the Period. Core earnings reached a record high of RMB4.4 billion, up 33% over 2012. Core net margin also rose to a historical high of 30%. The Company made major progress in during in the Period in Beijing and Shanghai, with Wangjing SOHO, Galaxy SOHO, SOHO Century Plaza and Qianmen projects all achieving strong leasing results. The board has approved a final dividend of RMB0.13 per share, bringing the annual dividend to RMB0.25 per share for the full year. The Company has consistently paid a high and stable dividend, with an average dividend yield of 5.5% over the last four years.

Facebook Stock Is In A Buy Zone; Is This FANG Stock A Good Buy?

Here is the link.

Facebook (FB), one of the FANG stocks, is getting renewed attention after a strong third-quarter earnings report. The launch of Facebook Pay helped spark a rise in FB stock above a cup-with-handle buy point. Among the big-cap winners of the decade, FB stock soared almost 600% from July 2013 to July 2018. Since then, FB stock has been on a roller-coaster ride, as growth moderates and regulators and politicians take aim. Yet the company seems to have regained its stride. So is Facebook stock a buy right now?


Fact 1:
FB stock soared almost 600% from July 2013 to July 2018.

Zhang Xin China's real estate mogul

Here is the link.

Zhang Xin went from working in a sweatshop to being a billionaire real estate developer? Lesley Stahl reports.

Davos 2016 - Where Is the Chinese Economy Heading?

Here is the link.

Speakers: -Gary D. Cohn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Goldman Sachs, USA. -Ray Dalio, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates, USA. -Fang Xinghai, Director-General, International Economic Department, Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs of the People's Republic of China. -Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of the Board, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, People's Republic of China. -Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington DC. -Zhang Xin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, SOHO China, People's Republic of China.

I like to take some time off to watch the video. I need to test what percentage I can understand the topics.

How poor people survive in the USA | DW Documentary

Here is the link.

Homelessness, hunger and shame: poverty is rampant in the richest country in the world. Over 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line, twice as many as it was fifty years ago. It can happen very quickly. Many people in the United States fall through the social safety net. In the structurally weak mining region of the Appalachians, it has become almost normal for people to go shopping with food stamps. And those who lose their home often have no choice but to live in a car. There are so many homeless people in Los Angeles that relief organizations have started to build small wooden huts to provide them with a roof over their heads. The number of homeless children has also risen dramatically, reaching 1.5 million, three times more than during the Great Depression the 1930s. A documentary about the fate of the poor in the United States today.

How the rich get richer – money in the world economy | DW Documentary

Here is the link.

Exploding real estate prices, zero interest rate and a rising stock market – the rich are getting richer. What danger lies in wait for average citizens? For years, the world’s central banks have been pursuing a policy of cheap money. The first and foremost is the ECB (European Central Bank), which buys bad stocks and bonds to save banks, tries to fuel economic growth and props up states that are in debt. But what relieves state budgets to the tune of hundreds of billions annoys savers: interest rates are close to zero. The fiscal policies of the central banks are causing an uncontrolled global deluge of money. Experts are warning of new bubbles. In real estate, for example: it’s not just in German cities that prices are shooting up. In London, a one-bed apartment can easily cost more than a million Euro. More and more money is moving away from the real economy and into the speculative field. Highly complex financial bets are taking place in the global casino - gambling without checks and balances. The winners are set from the start: in Germany and around the world, the rich just get richer. Professor Max Otte says: "This flood of money has caused a dangerous redistribution. Those who have, get more." But with low interest rates, any money in savings accounts just melts away. Those with debts can be happy. But big companies that want to swallow up others are also happy: they can borrow cheap money for their acquisitions. Coupled with the liberalization of the financial markets, money deals have become detached from the real economy. But it’s not just the banks that need a constant source of new, cheap money today. So do states. They need it to keep a grip on their mountains of debt. It’s a kind of snowball system. What happens to our money? Is a new crisis looming? The film 'The Money Deluge' casts a new and surprising light on our money in these times of zero interest rates.

Yishan Wong - Engineering Management - Hiring

Here is the article.

This is the article I like to think about carefully. It is not easy to win all votes from interviewers. I am not sure what is best strategy to ace the onsite interview from Facebook.

Research - hire the best 

Hiring is a function requiring cooperation from multiple departments and consists of multiple phases; roughly speaking: sourcing, screening, interviewing, deciding, offer-making, and closing. At each stage this means making the relevant actions the top priority of the responsible actor, e.g. it means that recruiters contact a lead immediately, and schedule an interview or follow-up conversations to occur at the first humanly-possible time slot. It means that doing an interview takes priority over other work. It means that hire/no-hire decisions are made as soon as possible upon conclusion of the interviews, and offers made with subsequent speed. Recruiters don't wait until the next day to call a candidate or schedule them for next week. Interviewers don't skip an interview because they have other things to do. Interviewers don't wait a few hours or days to give their feedback on an interview. Hiring managers coalesce the feedback, facillitate a decision, put together an offer, and begin closing the candidate immediately.

"Hire the best" is a well-known Silicon Valley maxim, but many companies fail to differentiate between "hiring the best" and "hiring the best candidate you interviewed."

How to be one of top-notch people? How to evaluate?

This has a number of effects. First, it means that more people are bought in to the candidates who eventually join, and team bonding gets a jumpstart - new people join a workplace where they have already met several people, and know that these people approve of and welcome them. Second, it puts the power of maintaining the quality of one's workplace into everyone's hands. Personnel excellence is not just something management handles off in some ivory tower, it lives and dies through the practice of individuals. A question is often asked in hyper-growth companies, "How are we ensuring that all these people we're hiring are top-notch people?"

Actionable Items

Six stages:

1.  sourcing
2.  screening
3.  interviewing
4.  deciding
5.  offer-making
6.  closing.

【舒立时间】潘石屹 张欣:我俩如何做慈善

Here is the link.

2013.12.29文茜的世界周報／收購通用汽車大樓 張欣首談美國地產

Here is the link.

2013.11.24文茜的世界周報／陳文茜vs.張欣 兩岸智慧女性經典對談

Here is the link.

0912文茜財經週報／深圳女工華麗轉身 張欣的傳奇故事

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張欣，一個你不能不認識的名字，14歲半父母離異，單親媽媽帶著她從北京到香港，張欣從此當起生產線上的女工作員，她沒有向命運低頭，一路咬著牙，近20 歲時以全部積蓄，買了一張機票到英國讀語言學校，她賣起英式炸魚薯條半工半讀，一名女工，居然憑己之力無人協助，竟完成劍橋大學MBA碩士學位，並到華爾街工作。

吴军博士写给女儿的信：趁年轻，你要记住5件事

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决策时格局要大，做事时境界要高

在梦华大学二年级开学前，吴军给她写了两封信，他希望梦华能从大处着眼，在境界上超过同龄人，而不仅仅是技能比他们厉害。因此建议她在MIT选课时多选一些人文课程。

因为等她毕业离开学校，那些人文课程便难以学到了，倒是那些专业课，将来学习的机会很多。

MIT每年只录取1200余名本科生，哈佛一年也不过录取1600名左右本科生，加起来占美国人口的十万分之一。

谷歌到2017年底有8万人，苹果有13万人，加在一起21万，比哈佛和MIT招的学生多很多，但平均的智力和受教育程度显然要比这两所学校的毕业生低很多。

不过，因为他们做对了事情，人均产出并不低。

很多时候亚裔家长一直在纠结孩子上名校有没有用，吴军觉得，如果格局提升不上去，上了也没用，还达不到谷歌员工的平均水平。

当然，MIT的毕业生总体来说格局还是很高的。

MIT还在世的本科校友中，有大约1/3是大公司的高管和创始人，也就是说，他们并不是那些满足于赚小钱的人。

如果开始做一件事，就要尽可能往最好的目标努力，境界要高。

所谓境界，可以理解为目光能看多远。

如果你能够看到三年后的事情，而别人只能看到一年后的，那么你的境界就比别人高。

吴军问过很多在校大学生对今后的想法，大多数人关心的是学什么专业和技能可以赚大钱，而且最好快速获得成功。

一些年轻人甚至想在30多岁的时候就获得财富自由，他们的想法都不太现实。

但凡能够比较长期稳定赚钱的行业，比如医生，开始的投入都是比较大的。

并不存在一个不需要投入就能获得很高回报的行业。

否则这个行业一定竞争激烈，一段时间后行业的回报会急剧下降。

在人生的发展道路上，总会有很多短期诱惑。很多时候，那些诱惑显得如此美妙，会令周围的人渐渐放弃目标，接受它们。

这就是考验人的定力的时候。

吴军在信中对梦华说：

人的境界高一点儿，多关注长远，少盯着眼前，才能走得更远。

吴军：为什么第一份工作不要太在乎工资？

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对于非常重要的岗位，谷歌会开出一个比市场价高一倍的薪水，这样就由公司来挑选最好的人，而不是让最好的人在几家公司中做比较，才能快速让那些最优秀、最敬业的人为其所用。事实证明，靠这种方法聘请到行业里数一数二的精英，他们能够创造一般人创造不出的奇迹。

因为一个公司虽然不提供更高的薪酬，但是会给年轻人更多的成长空间，真正有志之人，你应该更看重后者。

功夫财经专访吴军博士

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吴军博士《态度》

内容简介  · · · · · ·

《态度》一书是吴军老师首部个人成长类著作。吴军老师认为，由于处事的态度不同，起点差不多的人会不断分化，进而拉开命运的差距。

这本书是吴军老师给正在上大学和上高中的女儿们的家书，针对年轻人在成长过程中都要遇到的有效学习、处理人际关系、理解并赚取财富等具体问题，以及如何洞察世界、人生等哲学问题，给出了诚恳的建议。这些建议或源于作者的亲身经历，特别是十多年来参与大学管理和在世界一流企业从事管理工作的经验，或源自其尊崇的智者的成功经验，对渴望自我精进、加速成长的读者有着极高的参考和借鉴价值。

作者简介  · · · · · ·

吴军博士，毕业于清华大学和美国约翰•霍普金斯大学，是著名自然语言处理和搜索专家，硅谷风险投资人。他的著作《浪潮之巅》《硅谷之谜》《数学之美》《文明之光》和《大学之路》广受读者欢迎，其中，《数学之美》荣获第八届国家图书馆文津奖，《文明之光》荣获2014年“中国好书”奖，《 大学之路》荣获2015年“华文好书”奖，《浪潮之巅》成为许多高校商学院、计算机学院、软件学院和信息学院的教科书及参考书。

吴军博士是谷歌公司早期员工之一。他是谷歌网络搜索反作弊的研究领域的开创者之一，中日韩文搜索部门的创始人之一，并且是当前谷歌中日韩文搜索算法的主要设计者。在谷歌期间，他还领导了许多研发项目，特别是在机器学习、自然语言处理和语音识别领域。为此，他得到了前首席执行官埃里克•施密特和创始人谢尔盖•布林的高度评价，并获得谷歌工程奖等奖项。

2010年—2012年，他加盟腾讯公司，出任负责搜索和搜索广告的副总裁，同时担任国家重大专项“新一代搜索引擎和浏览器”项目的总负责人。2012年回到谷歌，负责开发了被认为是“下一代搜索”的谷歌自动问答系统。同年，他作为创始合伙人创立了丰元风险投资基金（ZPark Capital），并且投资了90多家硅谷的初创公司。此前，他作为中国世纪基金的董事，在中国投资了数家科技企业，均于2015年之前上市或被收购。

吴军博士在国内外发表过数十篇论文，曾获全国人机语音智能接口会议的最佳论文奖和Eurospeech的最佳论文奖。还获得了十余项美国和国际专利。

吴军博士还担任上海交通大学客座研究员、约翰•霍普金斯大学工学院董事会董事和校国际事务委员会顾问，以及中国工业和信息化部的专家顾问。同时，他也是数家投资基金、创业公司的董事和顾问。

目录  · · · · · ·

序 言 态度决定命运 ...... VII
第一章/人生哲学
第1封信 乐观的人生态度比什么都重要 ...... 003
第2封信 幸福的来源 ...... 009
第3封信 如何拥有抵制诱惑的定力 ...... 015
第4封信 成功是成功之母 ...... 021
第5封信 最好是更好的敌人 ...... 027
第6封信 好习惯成就一生...... 033
第二章/ 洞察世界
第7 封信 决策时格局要大 ...... 045
第8 封信 做事时境界要高 ...... 053
第9 封信 生活是具体的 ...... 061
第10 封信 教育改变命运 ...... 069
第11 封信 好运气背后是三倍的努力 ...... 079
第12 封信 更重要的是做个好人 ...... 087
第三章/ 对待金钱
第13 封信 面对贫穷，你可以选择沉沦或奋起 ...... 095
第14 封信 承认自己“贫穷”，才能真正“富有” ...... 103
第15 封信 不乱花钱，也不乱省钱 ...... 109
第16 封信 运用财富时要从大处着眼 ...... 111
第17 封信 懂得钱的用途，还要有赚钱的本领 ...... 117
第18 封信 第一次投资的建议 ...... 123
第19 封信 一生永远不要碰的三条红线 ...... 129
第20 封信 我的金钱观 ...... 137
第四章/ 人际关系
第21 封信 论友情：交友时不要怕吃小亏 ...... 147
第22 封信 论爱情：合适的人会让你看到和得到全世界 ...... 155
第23 封信 团结大多数人 ...... 163
第24 封信 远离势利小人 ...... 169
第25 封信 达到沟通目的才算有效沟通 ...... 175
第26 封信 如何体面地拒绝别人 ...... 181
第五章/ 有效学习
第27 封信 上帝喜欢笨人 ...... 191
第28 封信 证伪比证实更重要 ...... 197
第29 封信 做理性的怀疑者 ...... 207
第30 封信 为什么要读非小说类名著 ...... 217
第31 封信 为什么要学好数学 ...... 223
第32 封信 我们在大学学什么 ...... 229
第33 封信 如何选择学校和专业 ...... 237
第34 封信 写科技论文的技巧 ...... 243
第六章/ 做人做事
第35 封信 做事前不要过分算概率 ...... 253
第36 封信 专业和业余的区别 ...... 257
第37 封信 永远寻找更好的方法 ...... 265
第38 封信 服从是学会领导的第一步 ...... 271
第39 封信 捡最重要的事先做 ...... 277
第40 封信 主动心态能提升全局观和协作力 ...... 283