Reid Hoffman says it took him 15 years after graduating from Stanford in 1990 to figure out what he was really doing with his life.

Figure it out, he did!

Hoffman is now the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, a $19 billion public company.

During those 15 years, Hoffman first thought he wanted to become an academic. Then he abandoned that idea to start some companies. Mostly, they flopped.

How'd he figure his path out? What lessons can today's graduates learn from Hoffman's journey?

To answer those questions Hoffman and Ben Casnocha first co-authored a book called "The Start-up of You."

Then, expanding on ideas from that book, they created a slideshow presentation for college grads called "The 3 Secrets Of Highly Successful Graduates" and allowed us to republish it here.

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Editor's note: Last year, Business Insider partner EpicLaunch toured the offices of hot Israeli startup Waze.

Today, according to several reports, Waze is about to be acquired by Facebook for a price around $1 billion. 

Obivously this has all of us even more interested in what it's like working at the fast-growing company…

Ever wonder what it's like inside a booming Israeli startup?
It's not exactly the same as Silicon Valley, NYC or other tech hubs. So here's your chance to see.

In case you haven't heard, Waze is a fast-growing social GPS app with over 10 million users. They recently raised a massive $30 million round.

Waze actually launched in Israel and gained mass adoption throughout the whole country. In fact, it's so popular that Waze doesn't have a sign in front of their office because already random people like to drop by and rave about the app.

The phenomenon began in Israel hence, the .co.il domain name

A happy Waze employee who just received a new Macbook Air.

3 million users? Not too long ago. Now they're at 10 million.

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In honor of Mother's Day, we're honoring the Mothers of Tech.

These women are not only moms, but are also leaders in the tech industry.

They prove that you don't have to choose between a family and fabulous career, you can have it all.

Let them be an inspiration to other women, and to men, too.

Kass Lazerow, Co-founder Buddy Media, Mom to three

Kass Lazerow (with husband/business partner Michael Lazerow) has given birth to as many companies as kids.

Together, they've had more than $2 billion worth of successful exits, Michael says. That's Buddy Media (sold to Salesforce.com for $689 million last year), U-Wire/Student Advantage (IPO) and GOLF.com (sold to Time.)

Golf.com, we've heard, was Kass's idea and she was COO during her second pregnancy.

Today, she's the mom to three kids. 

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, Mom to two

Sheryl Sandberg has arguably done more for mothers working in the tech industry, or any industry, this year than anyone else.

Her new book, "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead"while controversial, encourages women to step up and be leaders. It also asks all parents to notice and eliminate the subtle ways they are discouraging their daughters.

All the profits from her book will go to women's charities and she sits on the boards of Women for Women International and V-Day.

She has two children with her husband David Goldberg, who is CEO of SurveyMonkey.

Paula Long, Co-founder and CEO of DataGravity, Mom to one

Paula Long is known for co-founding EqualLogic, sold to Dell for $1.4 billion in 2008. She's now working on her next startup, Andreessen Horowitz-backed DataGravity ($42 million raised to date).

She's also the mom of a son, Andy, with husband Richard.

Running a company is so difficult and time-consuming that the "First time I became a founder, I told Richard and Andy that they were co-founders," she told Business Insider.

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Apple is racing to finish updates to iOS 7, its latest version of the software that powers iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches.

This year's iOS is widely reported to be getting a the first major redesign in the history of the software. The new look is said to be lacking in the glitz and the gloss that's been prevalent throughout iOS's life.

Instead, we're supposed to get a cleaner, simpler design.

Simply Zesty decided to whip up its own take on what Apple could do with a total redesign of iOS.

We like the way it looks, but we doubt Apple would make this big a change. It would be far too jarring for the hundreds of millions of people that use iOS to see such an overhaul.

Still, it's fun to dream...

Get ready to see a totally different look for iOS 7.

Here's what Apple's new icons would look like.

And here they are compared to the current icons. See how the bubble effect disappears?

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Tattoos are pretty popular in the NBA. Lots of players have them, and several of them have tattoos covering their arms and chests.

But even the guys who are covered, like Birdman and J.R. Smith were once a clean slate.

Some of the most tatted-up NBA players looked like completely different people early in their careers.

NOW: Chris 'Birdman' Andersen

Chris 'Birdman' Andersen in 2003

NOW: J.R. Smith

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Our memories of our favorite films are often intertwined with the iconic movie posters that advertised them. That's why when you come across a foreign version of a poster for a film that you love it almost feels as if the film itself has been remade — wrongly.

We've compiled a bunch of famous film posters from the last few decades and have put their dumbfounding doppelgangers from across the globe right along side them.

Take a look and be reminded how proud you are to be an American.

The classic Breakfast at Tiffany's American movie poster.

A Breakfast at Tiffany's poster created in Poland. Not bad!

The US film poster for Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

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This post originally appeared on Oyster.com.

The Hamptons has a reputation as one of the East Coast’s premier beach destinations, filled with natural beauty and luxe amenities.

So whether they’re high-end spas, Buddha gardens, or some exclusive yacht parking, these Hamptonite amenities are some of our favorite hotel extras ever.

Take a look at the perks that make weekends away in the Hamptons even better!

C/O The Maidstone: Vintage Scandinavian Kronan Bikes

C/O is full of amenities that appeal to chic Hamptonites, including free yoga classes in the Buddha garden, a private wine cellar, free loaner iPods, a chef's garden, and Vintage Scandinavian Kronan bicycles for guests to use.

Get a closer look at the C/O The Maidstone.

Montauk Yacht Club Resort & Marina: Yacht Club & Marina

This family-friendly resort has a variety of cool guests perks, including charter-boat excursions from the attached marina.

Not to be upstaged by the C/O, it also offers loaner bikes (that, albeit, aren't quite as cute as the vintage-style ones).

Get a closer look at the Montauk Yacht Club Resort & Marina.

The East Hampton Art House Bed & Breakfast: Art Studio

Although there are only four rooms for rent in this elegant B&B in East Hampton, the inn offers more -- and better -- amenities than those at many much larger properties.

They include media room, endless pool, game room, and art studio.

Get a closer look at the East Hampton Art House Bed & Breakfast.

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This post originally appeared on Oyster.com.

Hotel bars are often a convenient spot for a nightcap or a quick after-work drink (anything to take the edge off!) while on a business trip — but not all have the right vibe and noise level to help free your mind of all the stress after a long day of work.

Whether you have been working all day in your office, or running from meeting to meeting while on the road, these great hotel bars are a safe bet for some after-work fun.

Red Owl Tavern at Hotel Monaco Philadelphia

The Red Owl Tavern is a hip spot located off the lobby at Hotel Monaco.

It offers a fantastic wine list (put together by Kimpton Hotels master sommelier Emily Wines), and hand-crafted cocktails.

With huge windows overlooking Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, a couple of cool industrial-inspired details, and house-cured charcuterie board specials, the bar attracts a varied crowd of professionals.

Breslin Bar at ACE Hotel NY

April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, co-owners of New York restaurant The Spotted Pig, teamed up for Ace’s Breslin Bar, a hopping, casual spot that’s popular among young professionals.

It can get crowded, so better get there early; if that last presentation is holding you back and the Breslin is already packed by the time you arrive, the hotel’s lobby is also a wonderful place for a drink, and offers food from the Breslin as well.

W Lounge at the W Boston

The W’s stylish lounge turns into a happening bar by night.

The cool, modern space has sleek booths, oversize suede chairs, metal curtains, and trickling water panels.

But this being Boston, there’s also a crackling fire that the young, attractive crowd gathers around to sip their pineapple martinis — at least when it’s chilly outside.

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Earlier today, ABCteased the first promo for its "Avengers" spinoff series, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." 

Now, the full promo for the series is online.

Check it out below:

The show will feature Clark Gregg reprising his role as Agent Phil Coulson from "The Avengers" film last summer.

Meet the entire cast of the series >

Though the series hasn't revealed any plans to incorporate superheroes from "The Avengers" film, it appears the series will incorporate them in a different way.

Heading to the website teased at the end of the promo, AgentsofSHIELD.com will lead you to a viral site for series titled WeAreTheRisingTide.com

The site followers a conspiracy theory group named "The Rising Tide" who have posted a few clips to the Web including some from previous Marvel films such as "Iron Man 2."

Their agenda is to out the secret Marvel agency. 

Here's one of the Hulk labeled "Monster rages in Harlem": 

Another is labeled, "Proof of SHIELD operatives investigating mysterious incident."

Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson from "The Avengers."

The show will have some explaining to do for his fate in last year's summer blockbuster.

Elizabeth Henstridge will play bio-chemist agent Jemma Simmons.

Later this year she'll be on USA drama "Reach Me" opposite Sylvester Stallone and Terry Crews.

Iain De Caestecker plays engineer Leo Fitz.

This summer, he'll also star in thriller "In Fear."

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One of our two political parties is still saying that the United States faces a "spending crisis" that must be immediately addressed by further cuts to federal spending.

If we do not cut spending, the Republicans say, our debts will spiral out of control and the country will implode.

The good news, for those who don't relish the thought of the country imploding, is that this fear-mongering appears to be seriously overblown.

Our debt and deficit crisis is actually getting better fast.

The deficit itself is now shrinking quickly, and--as evidenced by today's super-low interest rates--the bond market is not worried about our ability to maintain our debt load over the long haul.

The ongoing budget deficit, furthermore, is not just the result of a "spending problem." It's also the result of a "low tax problem," at least relative to most prior history.

Over the long-term, if we don't get our health care and military spending under control, we will face a big deficit problem. But we don't today.

Don't believe it?

Our deficit is still high in absolute dollars, but it's now shrinking rapidly. And this chart does not show the impact of this year's tax increases and spending cuts.

As a percent of GDP, our current deficit looks even less extreme. If the deficit-reduction trend continues, which it should, we'll soon be back in well-charted waters!

The reason that the deficit is now decreasing, meanwhile, is a result of two factors: Spending (red) has plateaued, and tax revenue (blue) is recovering again.

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Abraham Thomas and the rest of the Quandl.com team gave us permission to publish the following presentation. 

The Fed has been trying to boost employment by keeping interest rates way low.

The theory is, companies will be more willing to borrow and invest in their businesses if banks are giving them good opportunities to do so.

The Fed has acknowledged its easing policy has not come without costs, especially for savers.

But on the surface, inflation has remained stable.

It's not quite so simple, however.

In many key areas middle class folks count on, prices have gone up severely. 

The following charts demonstrate the extent of the problem.

Let’s look at inflation since the start of the decade. Most economists take “stable prices” to mean “inflation between 0% and 2% every year”, and the Fed seems to have hit this target with admirable accuracy.

But wait. Let’s dig a little deeper into the numbers. What are the things people spend money on? Consider the essentials first. Food prices are rising faster than inflation:

So are energy prices:

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Samsung's new hero Android phone, the Galaxy S4, is now available on all major carriers except for Verizon. (The Verizon model will ship at the end of May.)

If you're going to get a new GS4, here's a starter pack of Android apps to get you started.

Note: These apps will work on most other Android phones too, including the excellent HTC One.

Google Chrome is the best Web browser for Android phones.

Some Android smartphones come with the Google Chrome Web browser preinstalled, but if yours doesn't, you should download it right away.

Google Chrome is the best browser for Android phones. It syncs bookmarks and other preferences from your Google account across your desktop and other devices.

Price:Free

Swiftkey is the best keyboard for your Android device.

SwiftKey is one of our favorite Android apps. The keyboard app replaces the stock that ships with your phone.

One of the best features is SwiftKey's ability to learn from your habits across social media and email accounts to figure out exactly what you're trying to write.

Price:$3.99

Flayvr merges all your photos and videos into one app.

Flayvr is the perfect photo gallery replacement app.

All your photos and videos are sorted based on time, and you can create and manage various albums.

One of our favorite features about Flayvr is how it stitches photo and video into the same stream.

Price:Free

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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is the new owner of a 16-acre vineyard in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The property, called Moraga Vineyards and Winery, comes with a large residence. We don't know the final sale price, but it had been listed for $29.5 million.

The estate previously belonged to former Northrop Grumman CEO Thomas Jones, who owned it for three decades and started making wine there, according to Curbed. Murdoch first checked out the place after reading about it in The Wall Street Journal, according to the LA Times.

The tycoon tweeted about his purchase Friday, saying, "About to celebrate buying beautiful small vineyard right in LA. Great wine, Moraga, owned by great Angelino, Tom Jones. Time cover,1961!"

Welcome to Moraga Vineyards and Winery in Bel Air.

The 16-acre property comes with a working winery and 5-bedroom residence.

It's located just five miles from the Pacific Ocean, in an area with a microclimate that's great for winemaking.

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Mathematics is full of counterintuitive facts and problems that push your mind to new areas and challenge your cognitive versatility. 

The next nine facts are just a few of those puzzles; problems that have a habit of sparking arguments and debates among even some of the smartest students. 

While they may seem controversial, they're all rock solid fact. 

Several of them are paradoxes and idiosyncrasies of probability.  Others play your instincts against your logic. If you're looking for a mathematical way to impress your friends and beguile your enemies, here's a good place to start. 

Just a heads-up, these problems are a little tougher than last time. If you lose track, don't quit. 

Please send all attempts at counter-proofs as well as any miscellaneous abuse or beration to either whickey@businessinsider.com or @WaltHickey.

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It's like a real-life super hero story.

Tech Sgt. Anthony Valentin is a combat operations controller by day, and a fierce wrestler by night.

He tells Airman Magazine that he always wanted to be like G.I. Joe as a kid in Brooklyn. Then he saw World Wrestling Federation's Ultimate Warrior tear across his TV screen and was changed forever.

“I saw the way the crowd reacted, the attention he (received) and any little thing he did everyone watched him. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a wrestler.”

Valentin's career began in 2005, when he found the right wrestling school.

His mother wanted him to be a 'good guy' in the ring.

Valentin was already a good guy 40 hours a week though. So he went the bad route, and "AJ Summers" was born.

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Countless celebrities Tweeted, Instagrammed, Vined and Facebooked photos from their Mother's Day celebrations on Sunday, while others posted throwback photos of their moms.

Selena Gomez even used the day to announce her mother's pregnancy, making her a big sister at age 20.

Ryan Seacrest flipped frittatas, Cindy Crawford hit the beach, and a few showed off funny faces.

Check out personal photos from the stars.

Britney Spears' sons showed off funny faces.

"I've got the two cutest boys in the world! Hope y'all are having as nice of a #mothersday as I am!"

Even her dog wished the singer a Happy Mother's Day.

"Awww thanks sweetheart! RT @hannahspears I must confess @britneyspears is the best mommy ever!! Happy Mother's Day!"

Nicole Richie sent well wishes with her signature humor.

"The one day I year I forgive her for this. Happy Mothers Day!"

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The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams are happening on June 1.  

Consisting of three levels, they are considered to be the most difficult exams taken by Wall Streeters with fewer than 20 percent of candidates passing all three tests on the first try.

What's more is the average test-taker spends a solid five to six months preparing, so you can imagine those taking the June exam are in crunch mode.

We talked to a CFA charterholder, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, about things he didn't think he needed to know for the exams.  We've included the concepts he totally blew off.  

Disclaimer: We don't claim to be an expert in offering exam advice.  

Anonymous CFA: 'I didn't need to know the whole section on convertible bonds.'

Explainer:  When it comes to the section on convertible bonds, there's a "decent amount of jargon," according to our anonymous CFA source.  What's more is there are about 10 formulas that are "extremely straight-forward and simple," but a "total pain in the ass" to remember," the CFA said. 

Takeaway: Basically, the CFA charterholder we spoke to said the convertible bonds section is "an isolated topic" that has almost no connection to other parts of the exam.  If it takes more than an hour to master, don't waste your time.   

Anonymous CFA: 'I didn't need to know how to price a swap.'

Explainer: The anonymous CFA told us when he encountered the section on swaps, it wasn't about knowing the whole thing, but knowing a few key concepts: the basic dynamics of swap structures and payout profiles.  He added that the test-takers could be asked "if interest rates move, who is in the money and who is out?".

He explained that calculating how much a party is in the money or out is super complicated and just not worth the effort.

Takeaway: "All I'm saying is to ignore the whole process of pricing how much is made or lost by one party," the CFA told Business Insider.

Anonymous CFA: 'I didn't need to know anything about detecting violations of regression assumptions.'

Explainer: According to our anonymous CFA source, in the quantitative methods part of the exam there are all kinds of statistical tests in formulas that a test-taker must memorize and master.

"There's not way to get around that."

The CFA said there are tests to measure statistical weaknesses of certain regression formulas.

"They have crazy names like Breusch-Pagan test, Durbin-Watson statistic, Hansen Method, etc, and it's not straight-forward how to use them," the CFA said.  "It's not worth the time." 

Takeaway:  You pretty much guaranteed to get a question about this on Level, our source said. Don't be fazed if you're forced to guess.

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The U.S.S. Nimitz was deployed May 12 to the waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct bilateral training with the South Korean Navy over the next two days.

The goals of the operation are to enhance "integrated flight operations, air defense events, surface warfare training events, precision ship maneuvers and liaison officer exchange."

But the Nimitz, which was commissioned in 1975, is also meant to intimidate the autocratic, repressive North Korean regime.

Indeed, Kim Jong-Un reacted venemously to the carrier's deployment, threatening to "throw [it] into the bottom of the sea." 

Though much of world listens when bluster comes out of the Hermit Kingdom, rest assured the thousands of souls aboard the Nimitz hear only the steady hum of her inner workings. No doubt their focus is the mission.

The USS Nimitz is a nuclear "super carrier" and is the lead ship of an 8-ship strike group.

The carrier is right now off the coast of South Korea conducting bi-lateral training exercises.

The Nimitz carries a number of different fighter and transport air assets.

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Figuring out what's going on around you can be a daunting task and there are a ton of apps and websites that promise to make that situation easier.

While these sites make it easy to find out about events, it's harder to find an experience that tells you what's going on and allows you to buy tickets all in one place.

SeatGeek is a website that helps users find out what's going on and buy tickets all in one place. The company behind the service has launched a new iPhone app that imitates the websites best features.

The iPhone app brings the website's excellent search functionality to mobile. SeatGeek for iPhone is filled with interactive maps of every venue, allowing users to scroll, swipe, and zoom in on available seats.

SeatGeek has poured three and a half years of work into its interactive maps that pull data from a ton of sources including popular services, TicketMaster, StubHub, and Uberticket.

The new app is beautifully designed and fully functional, making it easy to find exactly what you're looking for.

SeatGeek's iPhone app is available now for free and you can also access the service online.

SeatGeek is a free download for iPhone. To find it, simply type "SeatGeek" in the App Store search.

Once you've downloaded the app, tap to open it. The first thing you'll need to do is allow the app to use your location.

You can search for a concert, sport, or other event you're interested in securing tickets for.

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