#004: Christian Mijares (25 years) on Managing $60 Million as a Financial Advisor

Welcome to the hackiversity podcast, where students learn how to achieve more by doing less in college. Learn the hacks from wildly successful recent college graduates as your host, Kyle Whiney explores the colleges, majors, and paths that produce the biggest results in college using less effort. It's hacking time. What's up, all you beautiful people out there? This is the hackaversity podcast, and I am Kyle Whine. Today, I'm excited for you to meet Christian Mijares. In just a little over two years from college graduation, Christian began running, as they say in the industry, otherwise known as managing a whopping $60 million as a financial manager at Morgan Stanley, an elite investment bank. Personally, this episode hits home because Christian is basically in the exact professional location to which I previously aspired as a college student. In this episode, Christian and I discuss the networking tactics and people skills that took Christian from managing $0 to managing $60 million, the world of financial management, and how to play in traffic in order to discover the career track students should pursue. Without further ado, let's dig in. Christian, thanks so much for coming on my show today.

Yeah, Kyle, really appreciate the time.

Christian. So I knew you from a networking event. That's how we met. And one of the really cool things about that was I wasn't sure if we would stay in touch after that or not, but you actually really came through in the clutch, among other things, with helping me out with some financial things. I'm like, you know, this guy really knows what he's talking about in the finance world.

Yeah, I appreciate the compliment, but it's all just part of the day job.

I love it. So, Christian, if your best friend were to introduce you as a guest speaker, what would they say?

Well, it depends on which best friend you ask, but most likely a best friend of mine would say that. This is Christian Mijias, an energetic young professional filled with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. He's definitely involved, has his hand in a lot of different pots, but at the end of the day, he puts his bed foot, best foot forward into whatever he's involved in, whether it be professionally or personally or even athletically. He definitely strives to put his best foot forward each and every day.

I love it. And that was so evident, too, with our interaction. So, Christian, before we deep dive into your resume, I just want to set the stage by asking, how old are you?

I'm 25, and I've got maybe three gray hairs to prove it.

I'll tell you what, you can borrow some of mine if you want to appear older? Because I have plenty to give.

Yeah. In the financial world, people take a little bit more credit from those with grayer hair. At least I have three to say. I have a couple.

I love it. And it works the same way in the legal industry too. So I use that to my advantage. So, Christian, you work at Morgan Stanley right now. And Morgan Stanley holds a really special place in my heart. And the reason why is it kind of started my entire journey down this path that I've kind of called Hackiversity. And that is Morgan Stanley was the job I wanted in undergrad. I really wanted to work there. I really wanted to work on Wall Street. I really wanted to manage a lot of money. And the thing was, I worked really hard and I got really good grades. I graduated top of my class, and I expected for Morgan Stanley's all across Wall street to offer me a job, and they actually didn't. I didn't get any job offer, period. And one of my fraternity brothers, who was one of the biggest slackers I knew in college, actually landed a job at Morgan. It was kind of ironic. And he did not have the grades that I thought you need to get into Morgan, but he still had the job. And so Morgan Stanley has a really special place in my heart when it comes to all these things related to hackiversity. So I'd love to hear how you landed at Morgan Stanley.

Well, it's a pretty interesting story because I was also not a 4.0 student. I was pretty content with my B average and staying above average because when I was going through the ropes of undergrad, I knew that as an experience that I was paying for out of my own pocket. And I didn't want to tie myself down to the desk and I didn't find the same value in a 4.0 that somebody else might. I felt like real world people look way further past just a grade point average that you got in college to justify whether you're going to be a great fit for their company or not. And so for myself, my story behind Morgan Stanley. I graduated from a small school in Western PA called Geneva, had a little bit less than 2,000 in the undergrad, and actually returned home to Northern Virginia and was working at the Puma store in the Leesburg outlets and simply just kind of letting life unfold a little bit, getting some feet under me after college because it's definitely a bit of a transition going from such a fun filled and packed experience with a lot of people in the same mindset to getting into the real world. And at that point I had been in touch upon graduating with branch manager from Morgan Stanley down in Washington, dc. She had come upon my name because she had one of my family for a little while. And so we were in touch. And I wasn't initially interested in so much of a career in the financial industry. And so I didn't pursue it too much. I really let her decide when the time was for interviews and things like that. And after close to a year of experience outside of graduating is when they said it was time to pull the trigger, went through the interview process, took it very professionally, and ultimately got onboarded to Morgan Stanley down in Washington D.C. at the beginning of May in 2015. So it was a process where it definitely took a couple months and it definitely took just patience. But ultimately what had me decide to really go that way is that I felt like it was an industry which was never going to be going away. So there was stability in that. But there's also the aspect of if I don't put my best foot forward and try, then I'll kick myself 10 years down the road for not doing it. And so there was both of those aspects at play that really made me say yes at the end of the day and jump into the role.

So just to be clear, you never really targeted Morgan Stanley after graduating. You kind of worked somewhere else in Puma doing retail. And then it only happened because of a chance interaction with someone else who eventually recommended that you apply to Morgan that you actually got the job at Morgan, is that right?

Pretty much. I had been almost headhunted, kind of recruited by this branch manager at Morgan at the time. And it was just patiently waiting while I was spending time at Puma because I actually graduated with my degree in marketing. So I was hoping for aspirations one day of going into controlling marketing outlets and really being in charge of any advertising and campaigns. And I ultimately reasoned it as while being a financial advisor is marketing myself and being able to put a great campaign together for the people that I'm trying to target. So it was a bit of a blend of the marketing aspect, but for the most part it was being able just to be in a position where I said, I'm going to take this leap of faith and see where it goes.

Yeah, I love it. Just put yourself out there and trust and good things happen. I love it. So, Christian, what exactly do you do at Morgan Stanley? I know you just mentioned you're a financial advisor there, so tell me what that means.

So ultimately, what being a financial advisor means is that I provide guidance and comfort and really lend a helping hand when it comes to navigating all aspects of the financial world to get beyond just the idea that it's purely stocks and bonds. Half of it is simply being able to understand what a client's needs are and what their desires are on a financial side of things. And the other aspect is being able to put forth the right recommendations and the right set of investments or simply the right financial guidance for them to set them up for success for their goals in the future, whether it be for retirement, a major purchase, and even just to help them through times where they might have too much on their plate and they're looking for somebody else to provide them that guidance. It really is being a personal chief financial officer for a multitude of clients, coming from a diverse set of backgrounds and situations.

And how does it feel to manage people's life savings?

Boy, there are some days where it is a lot of pressure.

Yeah, I can imagine.

It's one of the things people will talk about. Relationships, politics, religion. But when you ask them about their money and their financial picture, they hold that very close to the chest, very closely guarded. And in that respect, you also have to treat handling their life savings and their money with a certain delicacy. You have to understand what their pain points are, what causes them to stay up at the end of each day when it comes to money. And when you identify, that is when you can have a great relationship and a great experience with them by being able to provide comfort. When times are choppy, when the news is screaming headlines of a thousand different things happening, and there's always something negative to be out there or worry, you get to be able to provide that stability for them, no matter which way their investments or their money are going, as long as you can be a calm and guiding voice for them to take comfort from.

Speaking about managing people's life savings. Christian, how much money in total do you manage right now?

There was a point when I was spending my time in D.C. where I was managing close to 60 million at this point. Been able to trim down on some of the clients that I serve and manage, right? About $13 million of assets right now.

Wow. So you skimmed down the amount of money you managed from $60 million, and you did that intentionally just so you could select better clients to work with.

Right. So a big aspect of it was being able to work with clients that either provided a greater opportunity for myself to be able to serve or were much more convenient to be able to serve, location wise. A Unique aspect about our industry is the fact that I'm personally registered in all 50 states. So I'm able to fulfill my role as an advisor and transactions, sorry, do transactions in publicly traded securities in any state in the US and being able to scale my practice down really allowed for me to have a better focus on clients that needed that more personalized and individualized attention and clients who it was better to serve with. Where my location was in Northern Virginia.

Wow, $60 million is just so much money. Christian, what tactics did you use to grow your business to that size?

I think the greatest tactic was just. And it might not even be a tactic. It was persistency. It was not taking no for a face value of no and letting it go. Thankfully, I was in a position where I was able to cultivate building my book out of some warm leads through Morgan Stanley and be able to have comfort in just picking up the phone and dialing repeatedly every day. There were some days where I'd be placing close to 100 warm calls a day. There are some days where I wouldn't do any because I had so much that would come right back at me with the assets that I was currently managing and in charge of. So it just came down to persistence. There were times where I took one phone call with a client and a good hour with them, and we were able to get things in a much better place for them. And there were times where I was never able to connect with them until the 8th, 9th, or 10th try. And then we finally broke the ice with each other. So being able to overcome the initial objection was really the key to my success in my year in DC and now in McLean as well.

So you had to be told no a lot, right?

Yeah, I've heard every different form of no as possible. If I hear of a new one, I gotta make sure to write it down.

You can write a book on being told no.

It'll follow up what you're writing. It'll be how to say no.

I love it. So then how did you. What was kind of your emotional response to being told no? A lot of people fear rejection because they associate with failure. But how did you kind of overcome those objections at the beginning?

It certainly is tough to hear no. It's more disappointing when you hear a committed yes or things are moving in a positive direction and then you don't hear anything afterwards. So something that really helped me to overcome those initial nos was an understanding of there's always going to be something else there in the future, whether it be with that Client in particular, whether it be with another client moving forward. But just because you hear no once doesn't necessarily mean it's a no forever. Some clients in my experience, simply might not have been the right day to speak with them. Simply might not have been the right timing to speak with them, or they weren't in a position to do anything. But being able to understand that hearing no isn't a moment to shut down. It's a moment to get your eyes focused on the next thing that comes around or the next thing on the horizon. It really is essentially a stepping stool for something else.

Yeah. So you kind of consider being told no as actually being told maybe.

Yeah, I certainly did. Because if there wasn't. And the way that I always prefaced it for my clients is that while I understand there might not be anything that I can help you out with now, it doesn't mean that there won't be anything that I can help you out with in the future. So I always left it whenever there was a no or anything like that. I always leave it as a warm introduction for if there's something else. Because you never know whether it be a couple weeks, a couple months, even a year or two down the road where something else is going to pop up and that person is going to need to rely on you. And if you leave it as a cold, harsh ending when you hear that no, you might miss that opportunity.

Yeah, I love it. Play the long game. Play the long game.

That's exactly what it is. You play the long game and you keep your seat. And sometimes you need some seat belts on it, navigate through those bumpier times. But there's definitely a great benefit to being able to have that long term vision.

Yeah. So, Christian, considering you managed at $1.6 million, you had to be a fantastic networker. And so a lot of students are in college right now and they're trying to network and talk to people about getting an internship or getting a job after graduation. So what kind of advice when it comes to networking can you offer these students?

A great advice is simply know how to create a conversation out of nothing. Something that I see is very tough, especially for somebody fresh out of college or looking to be able to even have that introductory conversation is to find a common thread between the two. Whether it could be something as simple as noticing the watch that somebody is wearing or knowing the bag that they're holding, or even if you're at an event for some common cause, asking them how they got involved. Really all you need is that one Question to really open the door to having a conversation with someone and being able to simply ask and start the dialogue could lead to something way greater. So that's always a great starting point. And the other aspect is people really like to talk about themselves. So the more you ask somebody else about their story, as it were, the more willing they're going to be able to open up to you because you already have them talking. And again, people love to talk about themselves. And so if you ask about them and you ask patiently and just listen, then you'll really be able to network well and really develop either great relationships with people or find people who might not be a great relationship for you. It really is about just getting out there and knowing and even just asking the right question. And the more you do it, the more comfortable you become.

I love it. So find the commonality. Step one. Step two, ask genuine questions about the other person.

Absolutely. It's funny because in our industry we always think of networking. It's pretty much a real life version of the dating game.

I love it.

It's the professionals dating game. I think that's probably the best way to put it.

So you're courting one another, you know, you're kind of taking them out on a date, don't want to kiss them on the first date kind of thing.

Pretty much you're not, you're not going to get everything, you're not going to get the whole Kitna caboodle or go straight to marriage after the first time you meet someone. But if you're able to at least start the dialogue, break the ice and see, maybe there's something that you could help one another with or offer to one another, that's when it will turn into something that becomes fruitful a little bit later on down the road. And even in that, like you would with dating, you don't have to wait a three day rule before you call a guy or a girl or anything like that. You can connect on LinkedIn or social media platform and that helps you to stay in somebody else's mind and to simply drop a note, maybe find out a little bit more about their life or say, hey, really enjoyed getting to know you. Looking forward to running into you again. Because at the end of the day, if you started that conversation, you never know what that stranger or who that stranger might know or what they might be looking for.

I love it. Props. And in addition to that, props to any answer that integrates the three day roll into. I think you get bonus points for that. Christian. I love It.

Well, I didn't follow that in my own personal life, so I'm not going to follow that in my professional life.

Rules are made to be broken. Cool. So, Christian, I want to touch on another item on your resume, and that is your Medal of Valor, the life saving award. Tell me, what exactly is that?

That was a little interesting story behind it. So it was awarded to a civilian who essentially just acted in a heroic way in a time where it was more suited for someone who might be rescue personnel or life saving personnel. To keep the story short, when. When I was in middle school, we were in a car and my mother was driving, and she began choking, and I, in a moving car, had to reach around and do the Heimlich maneuver around both the seat and my mother. And thankfully, she was able to cough up the popcorn that she was eating just fine. And there was a policeman right in front of us, and he witnessed the whole thing. And so that's where he put that act up for the nomination for a civilian. And that's ultimately how I came to receiving the Medal of Valor.

That's so cool. So you basically saved your own mother's life.

Yes, and she doesn't let me live it down.

Well, that's not a bad thing.

No, it was. And that was just a fortunate happenstance that I had been through some CPR training beforehand and had learned the right tools beforehand to be able to do so. I remember it vividly because I was drinking a Dr. Pepper and I knew how mad my parents got if I ever spilled anything in the minivan. So I had to make sure I put the screw bottle top on top of the Dr. Pepper first and then give her the Heimlich instead of spilling it all over the back of the car.

Wow. So you closed the bottle first and then saved your mom's life.

Pretty much.

That is an extraordinary multitasker right there.

I still don't know if I finished the Dr. Pepper or not, but at least mom's still around, so that's the best part of it all.

And the van's clean.

And the van was clean. That was the other great part of it all.

Perfect. Perfect. Christian, let's change gears here and dig into your college experience. Like you said before, you graduated from a smaller school in Western Pennsylvania. Go, pa. That's where I'm from. You graduated from Geneva College. What was it like attending such a small college?

It was a unique and truly enjoyable experience. My college journey. I was an athlete in high school. I played soccer for three years. Wanted to continue on in my athletic journey because I had been playing soccer since I was 4. And so the two things that I was ultimately looking for in a school was an opportunity to play collegiate sports and also to be part of an extremely close knit community. And that's what I was able to find at Geneva. They had ultimately recruited for me to play soccer there. One of my first campus experiences was the fact that there was just such a close knit group of just students there. It was just very comfortable and comforting and welcoming to be able to pass by faces that you had relationships with on campus and being able to just create your own activities and build up on those genuine relationships with one another. And that's what ultimately drew me to Geneva. And the best part about it was the fact that from day one, I was living with a couple guys and we lived with each other all four years and we're still great friends today. So it's really the relationship that I was able to form with others and really build up with others that leaves me with the most grateful and lasting impression of my college experience.

And do you think you could have built those extraordinary relationships at a bigger school?

I definitely believe I could have. I think my experience would have been different regardless of what size school that I had gone to. But at the end of the day, I think that if I had to make the decision again, I'd most likely choose going to Geneva again. Because there was just some intangible quality about it that made me feel as if it was a place where I belonged and a place where I needed to be.

Yeah, it's kind of like your home.

For four years pretty much. And I got out and still not a Pittsburgh fan, so I hold that close to the chest. I respect all their teams, but they didn't convert me.

You survived.

I survived the black and yellow, so that was a win in my book. I love it.

So, Christian, while you were there, like you said earlier, you graduated with a degree in marketing. Excuse me, a degree in marketing. So why did you choose marketing as your major?

So marketing was something that I had pursued beginning in high school. I was involved with a lot of the marketing classes. Found that I had really enjoyed the challenge of building campaigns, presenting with people, public speaking, and really being able to establish myself as an expert in whatever I was presenting and being able to do. That also related to the fact that I like to be creative. I had a bit of an aspect where I certainly couldn't draw or paint, but I certainly saw different ideas that I thought would be really neat to be executed and that flows into marketing perfectly because they're always looking for that next neat, original idea. And so that's ultimately what had me pursue marketing in college. Was that just the experience that I had in marketing when I was in high school and being able to really find a passion and an appreciation for it?

Yeah. And how rigorous was your marketing degree compared to other majors both within the business school and outside the business school?

Well, candidly, most of my semesters were 12 and 13 credit semesters, so I think I might have been the most relaxed business major on campus. When it came down to it, I had filled up my time. I'd taken a couple summer courses and did an internship also, which really helped me to knock out a lot of credits. And so from a course perspective, a business major was just very well suited for me from a difficulty standpoint. When I had to stack them all up together, it was about middle of the road, because there were definitely some that were much easier, and there were definitely some, like people going into pre med and biology and physics. You had an engineering, because Geneva is a very rigorous engineering school that would oftentimes have heavier coursework than I had. But also from that personal standpoint, I was a more relaxed student, and so I put little limits on myself, such as not studying after midnight and making sure I took at least one day off. Just completely separated from schoolwork or anything to be able to fully rest and recover.

Cool. I love it. Christian, if you would have chosen a different major, such as finance, in the business school, do you think that would have been more useful to you than marketing?

It's tough to say. I feel as if I probably would have had a better foundation just into the financial world if I had chosen finance as my major. But ultimately, a lot of my knowledge, expertise comes from, as I'm going to call it, playing in traffic. Just being a part of the industry and being able to pick up on just the terminology and solutions and the way that you need to think as an advisor. I think that a lot of that is learned by playing in traffic in the industry.

I love that term, playing in traffic. I'm going to have to borrow that one. I like it.

That's all right. That's five cents every time you do so, though, I got to make a commission here.

You financial advisors are all about that commission. Well, speaking of which, Christian, when I was working at Morgan Stanley, I developed what I called the parking lot test. And that was I would go into the parking lot and I would see what kind of cars were parked there because that would determine what kind of lifestyle I think I could support moving forward in my career. And so a lot of college students are at the same crossroads in their life. They're wondering whether or not they should pursue a major or a career path that leads to more money, or if they should pursue a career path or a major that is more of a save the world type career path that makes less money. So how important to you is a higher standard of living?

Well, at the end of the day, I'm in my career simply to keep a roof on my head and food on the table. And so for me, I guess my happiness isn't directly linked to the amount of money in my bank account or the money I make every year. What's important to me is that I'm able to support myself and still be able to live an enjoyable lifestyle. And for that, full disclosure, being in the financial industry, it's a very lucrative business. Certainly you have a lot of advisors who are making a couple million each year, and they're sitting pretty happy and pretty in their country club lifestyle. But times have changed from when people who are the age of our parents were entering the industry to where millennials are now entering the industry. And our values are focused in different things. And so to really answer your question, to wrap it up, is ultimately, I feel as if it's frankly ludicrous for us as millennials to try and strive and achieve the same quality lifestyle that our parents are living now because they had to also work 20, 30, 40 years to get to where they are now. We're simply just starting out at the bottom, and this is the time that we have to really discover where we will find our true happiness in our work. Is it going to be in something that's a little bit more socially and eco conscious, or is it something that's going to be monetarily driven? And I think that that ultimately comes down to the impact that people have as an individual and that they're looking to have on others. And I think that once that ultimately is formed, that idea is formed or how much impact somebody would like to have is really formed. That's when the rest of the pieces fall into place as what might be the right place for them. Is it going to be money focused or is it socially focused?

Yeah, yeah, I think that's really insightful. I know a lot of people in business school when I was there, and I kind of got wrapped up in this too, pursue finance in particular, because like you said, a lot of people in that industry make so much money. When I was at Morgan Stanley, just very briefly, a lot of people in the Office were making 1 million, $2 million, and frankly, not working that hard to do it. A lot of them would leave at, you know, two or three in the afternoon, and that was not unusual for them. So that's why I think, you know, it can be, like you said, it can be kind of dangerous for students to pursue the money, as it were, because ultimately that might not make them happy, and they're going to get stuck in this industry that is really unfulfilling for them.

Right, exactly. And this is the time, especially being fresh out of college, where you can throw your hat into maybe one or two different ideas, and if it doesn't pan out, you can kind of separate from it and say, at least you tried. Even myself as an advisor, my time is full outside of the office, because what I do as an advisor doesn't. It doesn't fulfill me 100% of the way. I'm involved in a lot of things with high school students, such as coaching high school soccer and through an organization called Young Life, which helps to round things out for myself and just feeling fulfilled and feeling like I'm truly making an impact in the world beyond a balance sheet or beyond a commission. And when you get to fill your life with things like that that you're passionate about, that's when it becomes more just the job that you do.

Yeah, I think that's really insightful. So, Christian, when you were at college, you were the class president of your freshman class. What did you do as your class president?

I don't think I did much of anything as the class president.

I.

I think I sat in on our monthly student council meetings, and that was probably it.

You were just a butt in a seat?

Pretty much. And I guess as a freshman, I wanted to get involved in a couple different things. I'd never done student government before, so I just threw my hat in it freshman year and kind of said, why not? And that was the one and the only time where that happened.

Did you have to campaign or anything to score that position?

Yep. Yet I guess, campaign a little bit. It wasn't as brutal and bloody and nasty as this past presidential campaign, but it was really just sticking my name up on a whole bunch of windows and stuff and saying, christian Mihada is for class president. And I think I put up a couple more posters than the other guy did.

Sometimes that's all it takes. So, Christian, how do employers react to that line item on your resume? The fact that you were the class president.

Almost every employer that I've interviewed with has glanced over it. They actually never touched upon what you had mentioned earlier, the medal of Valor or the fact that I was a class president, which really fed into my own mindset as to what an employer was looking for. And it goes beyond just what you have written on the paper. I know, Kyle, you took a look at my resume and it's pretty minimal. And especially because a piece of paper won't do full justice to who you are and what you're involved in, what you're passionate about. And regardless of the background that you possess, the ultimate question that an employer is going to have is can you fulfill the duties that we're asking you to fulfill?

Yeah, but I think what you're saying is, Christian, above just the basic duties that they want to kind of know who you are as a person. They want to know if you serve in the community. They want to know what kind of values you hold. They take a more holistic view of you. Is that right?

Absolutely, absolutely. And I'm sorry if I took us on a little bit of a detour, but yeah, there's definitely more to somebody than just working. And an employer is really going to want to look for someone who, like you mentioned, just a well rounded individual who doesn't have everything focused on just work, work, work, but who's also a great, a person of great character and wants to have a great and positive impact on the people around them.

Yeah, I think that's so true. In my book I actually refer to that concept as a personal brand. And that personal brand goes much beyond the paper of your resume. Like we were saying, it's really talking about the people's or the person's values, characteristics that they have outside of the classroom or outside of their career and just what kind of person they are in general. And I think that is so important to demonstrate. And not only to demonstrate, but just to be. And I think the fact that you are involved with all these other things outside of managing millions of dollars is really not only impressive for employers, but just really cool as a human being. So I love it.

Yeah, I do too. That's why I do them all.

So, Christian, one last thing about your college career. You played varsity soccer, varsity cross country while you're at college. Tell me, what did these things teach you?

Well, making the training. Because both soccer and cross country are in the same season. So I had spent my freshman and sophomore year playing soccer and then made the transition my junior and senior year. For the varsity cross country team. And the biggest thing that I learned through soccer was the ability to just roll with whatever comes my own way. I knew that my career in soccer was going to end at the college level and so I wasn't expecting for it to end as soon as it did after my sophomore year. But the biggest thing that that taught me was simply being able to adjust as things change. Because there are going to be lots of times where things change without you really knowing or expecting. And so to be able to roll with the punches in that way was a great lesson to learn. And then the greatest thing I learned through cross country was simply relationships and how to build them up. It's one thing when you're grinding at a 12 mile run in the heat of summer and it's absolutely miserable, but it's another thing when you're grinding out a 12 mile run surrounded by two or three or four other people and you're just all in it together. And the relationship that you build over that 12 mile stretch or however long it might be, you naturally are forced us to talk with one another, to get to know one another and really build up relationships. And that would be the greatest takeaway that I had from my cross country experience.

Yeah. And that ability to build relationships and communicate with people has certainly served you extremely well at Morgan Stanley.

Oh, certainly. Well not only at Morgan Stanley, just in life also, because you never know when an opportunity that from a relationship that you had built in the past will pop up again and be something really positive.

So Christian, let's transition to my favorite part of the show. And that's what I like to call the rapid fire question section. And this is where I offer up some quick hitting questions. But that by no means means that your answer has to be quick hitting. So you ready?

Ready for it.

Cool. So Christian, my first question for you is, who is the first person that comes to mind when I say the word successful?

When I think successful, One of the first people that I think of that's probably because I was reading it already, are a couple of the people on Shark Tank. So Damon John, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, I'd say Kevin o', Leary, but he's a bit of a jerk, so we can leave him out of it sometimes.

Mr. Wonderful.

Yeah, that. Mr. Quote unquote wonderful. Always entertaining. But you think about some of the backstories to these guys and simply seeing where they came from. And especially even I was reading Robert Herjavec's story a little bit to find out that he was from an immigrant family that came here with just a couple dollars and a brief case. That's, for me, the pinnacle of what comes to mind right now, just because of the story that he had and how his family had been able to build things up really from scratch.

That's the American dream.

That is so instantly when that question pops up, that's who I think of. But I also think of someone like Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, the guys who established Nike just because they had a passion and they went for it. And those would be other two people that I throw in the mix there.

Yeah. Great answers, Christian. My second question is, what is one thing you believe about college that most people don't?

One thing I believe about college that people might not believe or might not think is I believe that you don't have to know where you want to be in the future so you have a successful college experience. I always hear that there's a lot of nervousness towards people who might be going in undecided or feel the pressure that they truly need to have an idea behind what they want to do. And I believe that you don't always have to have an idea. You don't need to have that passion instantly defined. I think that a lot of times when you go through the college experience, it helps to refine what you're looking for, where you believe that your passion is or what you're interested in, and you will naturally be guided in the way that your skills might be best suited for what you're most curious about.

Yeah. So it's like you're not necessarily choosing what you want to do for the rest of your life, as a lot of people claim. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Christian, let me ask you another question. What is the one thing you wish your sophomore self in high school knew?

Just looking back on it, I think that my sophomore self would have liked to have known more about money and more about just the intricacies to kind of funding college and being able to know where that really comes from and the value of pursuing scholarships and having that determination. Because I feel as if. Because I'm also. Although I'm a young professional, I do a good amount of student loans. And so if I had known more about them before, I feel as if I would have been better able to take care of them now rather than. Yeah. Having to adjust and learn as I kept going along as a young professional.

Yeah. And that's one of the reasons why I wrote the book Hack University. Just because this issue of student loans affects so Many people. And I just want students to make the right decision when it comes to them because a lot of people, frankly, including myself, haven't so. Super important issue. I love it. Christian, if you could make a plug for your career track or your profession, what would you say?

Being a financial manager, financial advisor, investment consultant, there are so many different types out there for it. But ultimately, being in the financial industry and being an advisor can be an extremely rewarding and gratifying experience because you have the ability to impact people in a way that that not even their loved ones might be able to impact them in. You have the ability to relate to people on a person to person basis and be able to be a guiding light for them in times or in situations where they need one or they're looking for one. And there are many times where it will go beyond just talking about money. There are many times where you could simply just be a comfort for them and saying, don't worry, client, we've got this covered for you. And that provides peace of mind. And so ultimately, being in the financial industry and being able to work as an advisor for clients can be extremely rewarding. And you can build up fantastic relationships through that experience, no matter how long or how short it is.

Yeah. Great answer, Christian. If you could recommend something to a college student in the form of a tweet, what would it be?

I like this one in the form of a tweet. Get involved and enjoy the time.

Christian, last question for you. What is the one pop culture trend you remember most from college?

Oh, man. Pop culture trend. I think that this was just coming into play. It was the rise of former what felt like Nickelodeon and Disney stars, so Ariana Grande and In One Direction and kind of the re emergence of boy bands as it came to it with all of them. So it had to be music. It definitely had to be music. And feeling like music was changing and I couldn't keep up.

You were feeling old, huh?

It made me feel old. I discovered an affinity for country music when I was in college and I knew that there wasn't too much difference in country other than truck girls and beer.

Yeah, that's true. That is true. Although I love me some country music too. So, Christian, I love talking about this stuff and I hope that you do too. So for all the listeners out there wanting to become the next Christian Mijares, tell them where they can find you.

Well, they can get in touch with me through LinkedIn. I'm pretty sure I'm the only Christian Mijias there. I always welcome a phone call. Can I get my phone number?

Absolutely.

Perfect. I always welcome a phone call at my office. It's 703-556-8124 and email is perfect too. It's Christian M I J A r e s morganstanley.com and something I always promise my clients and really anyone who gets in touch with me, is that I always provide at least a 24 hour turnaround to getting back in touch with them. So if I ever receive anything or if anybody wants to reach out, I'll most certainly get back in touch with them as quickly as I can.

Cool. Awesome. And I can attest to that 24 hour turnaround time. You were very dedicated to that. I'll put all those things in the show notes. Christian, thanks so much for joining me.

Hey thanks Kyle. I really appreciate the time.

If you want more hackiversity and achieving more by doing less in college, you can subscribe to the podcast on itunes or grab the book on Amazon. For the show notes and the latest on hackiversity, check out kyleweiny.com don't forget to follow Kyle on Twitter ilwinie and on facebook@facebook.com hackaversity Till next time, Happy hacking.