A Moment of Calm

I just finished taking the Level 1 CFA exam this weekend. I wasn't as prepared as I would like, but we'll see what 3 weeks of study can accomplish. I'm hoping to take the next week off and slowly decompress a bit from the continual run of activity from GMO in January, throughout this entire semester, and concluding with CFA prep. There are a lot of things on my to-do list, but mostly I want to just absorb new information, digest and do some independant thinking. I was restless the other night, thinking about some possible tweaks to financial theory dealing with asset leverage versus personal leverage. I hadn't done much synthesis or creation in a while, and the past year has been heavy on memorization and recall. Things I want to explore:

1. Finish "The Focus Investor"
2. "More Than You Know" as well as other writings by Mauboussin. I absolutely love his mind.
   
3. Finish "Of Permanent Value" as well as all of the original source Berkshire annual letters. I need to dissect and completely understand Buffett's thinking and motivations behind past acquisitions for the upcoming trip.
   
4. Catchup on Value Investor Insight reading. I think I'm behind on 4-5 issues already.
5. Finish Damodoran's valuation webcasts.

Sometime, it might also be helpful to figure out what I want to do after graduation in a year. I could try to aim for some large corporation, mentor for a smaller shop, or even go a more entrepreneurial route. I was talking to someone from my school's Career Management Center, and she told me I was one of the most promising people she had ever met. It was encouraging, but I need to remain vigilant that I live up to those expectations, as well as avoid any self-destructive hubris.

Another thing you have to do, of course, is to have a lot of assiduity.
I like that word because it means: sit down on your ass until you do it.
-- Charlie Munger