Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives once said that passion, not prestige or money, should drive career choices — indicating that if Mondays feel like a burden, you’re likely in the wrong profession.
Dan Ives Urges Students To ‘Be Ready For The Moment’
During a March episode of Market News with Rodney Lake, Ives said young professionals and students need to prepare for opportunities before they arrive.
“Be ready for the moment,” he explained, highlighting that when someone asks for a stock idea or investment thesis, it’s not enough to give a generic answer.
Instead, aspiring market participants should develop their own style, whether value-driven or growth-focused.
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Passion Over Prestige In Career Choices
Ives argued that true fulfillment comes from enjoying the work itself rather than chasing money or titles.
“The goal is not to be in a job where 60 minutes comes on Sunday night and you get the gut feeling in your stomach and you’re like Monday morning starting,” he said.
“The goal is that you want to do something that you enjoy. You don’t focus on just money, prestige, because those things go up and down really quick.”
The Wedbush managing director urged viewers to pursue roles that align with genuine interest, adding that passion is the key to long-term satisfaction and relevance in a competitive market.
Jeff Bezos And Warren Buffett Shares Similar Views On Passion
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has expressed similar views, often describing passion as central to success.
Speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s Forum on Leadership, he once explained, saying, “You can have a job, or you can have a career, or you can have a calling.”
Adding, “If you can somehow figure out how to have a calling, you have hit the jackpot.”
Bezos framed passion as something inherent that shapes ambitions from a young age, requiring discipline and resilience to transform into a fulfilling career.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has also counseled against postponing meaningful work. In a University of Georgia speech, he criticized graduates who take jobs for resume value rather than genuine interest, comparing the approach to “saving up sex for your old age.”
Buffett urged students to choose roles with organizations and leaders they admire instead of chasing short-term prestige.
Ben Horowitz Counters With Focus On Contribution
Not all leaders agree. Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz has warned graduates against blindly following passion, noting that interests can shift and people may not excel at what they love.
Instead, he advised focusing on skills and contribution: “Find the thing that you’re great at, put that into the world, contribute to others, help the world be better — and that is the thing to follow.”
Dan Ives Named Chairman of Eightco Holdings
Ives has been with Wedbush Securities since 2018, serving as managing director and senior equity research Analyst for the technology sector, as well as global head of Technology Research.
His career started as a financial analyst at HBO, after which he earned an MBA in Finance and went on to spend 16 years at FBR Capital Markets as Managing Director, specializing in enterprise software and hardware.
Earlier this month, Ives took on a new role as chairman of Eightco Holdings Inc. ORBS, where he will guide a $250 million initiative focused on Worldcoin WLD/USD, the token linked to Sam Altman’s identity-verification startup.
Speaking with CNBC, Ives said he was thrilled to step into the position, highlighting both his enthusiasm for AI and his belief in the promise of decentralized identity technology.
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