Lewis

"I had one quality possessed by neither of my teachers: a detachment from the business and the firm...It is extremely useful in a young career because it leaves you fearless.  I had the same advantage of recklessness as a driver in a traffic jam with a rent-a-car.  The worst anyone could do to my rent-a-career was take it away, and though I did not actively court that fate, the thought of losing my job didn't trouble me as much as it troubled lifers.  That is not to say I didn't care; I cared immensely.  I thrived on praise more than most and thus sought to please.  But I was willing to take greater risks than if I had felt deeply proprietary about my career.  I was, for instance, willing to disobey my superiors, and that caused them to sit up and take notice far more quickly than if I had been a good solider."
-Michael Lewis, Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street