Jamie Dimon on the single biggest challenge a Wall Streeter will ever face in their career
AP ImagesJamie Dimon.JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told a group of young bankers that the biggest challenge they'll have in their career will be their personal life.
"You've gotta take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your health. JPMorgan can't do it for you, or wherever you work," Dimon told the audience at a young Wall Street event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York in June.
Dimon continued: "[And] if you think that somehow you can neglect that on your rise up....you're probably going to be wrong. You'll destroy your personal relationships. You'll destroy your life. You won't be healthy. You won't enjoy it."
Here's a transcript [via Undercurrent]
"I think the biggest challenge in your life is going to be your personal life. OK, and I tell, I think it's really important to take care of your personal life. So you have this business life, it's really important.
"And you know, I got sick last summer, and people ask me this question, you know, 'Did it change what you think?' Not really. The most important thing to me is always family. And right next to that is humanity. OK, but my family would have come first. And down here, family and humanity, and then a little bit lower country 'cause I think this is one of the-this is an unbelievable country. I want to just mention that some in a second. And way down here is JPMorgan. Now you'd say, 'Well, gee, how's that possible? He's spent all that time at JPMorgan.'
"Well, I spent all the time I can with my family-I've got an unbelievable relationship with them, and but, you know, there's only, honestly, they would cap my time, if they, you know, like, 'OK, Dad,we don't have to spend all weekends, every weekend with you.' And we always took family trips, always did stuff like that, so I was always good in that.
"But you gotta take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your health. JPMorgan can't do it for you, or wherever you work, and if you think that somehow you can neglect that on your rise up the thing, you're probably going to be wrong. You'll destroy your personal relationships. You'll destroy your life. You won't be healthy. You won't enjoy it, and so I think that's where you're going to have some of your biggest troubles in life. And some of you probably already have. You know it could be health, family, you know, a sick mother or brother or sister or something like that.
"And so you know in you business life, you know, you should try to have a little perspective on it. You know, you're going to have ups and downs.
"You know, I went through a thing when I was you know, I-'cause I was looking at the CEO, and I said, 'Well, geez, you know, you feel bad for yourself.' And I realized all these CEOs have been fired. [audience laughter] Almost everyone once."
Work/life balance for junior level employees has become a big issue on Wall Street in the last couple of years. Many banks have made an effort to try to improve the lifestyles of their junior bankers.
Dimon's point, though, is that people need to take personal responsibility for their lifestyles too.