making mistakes
This is something that has been on my mind. I have to write fast before the NyQuil kicks in.
I don’t make many mistakes, but this is not something that I am proud of. I avoid the extremes. I have had many great opportunities that I willingly let go in the name of playing it safe:
- Closed allkidsfurniture.com (could have sold it)
- Berkeley scholarship (went to UCLA because it was closer)
- Lived in Sunset Village instead of the high-rise dorms (private bathroom)
- Passed on purchasing a condo freshman year (afraid of $200/mo. negative cash flow — it appreciated nearly 80% in four years)
- Communications and Accounting
- Countless girls I could have talked to
- Hell, countless guys I could have talked to (not in the gay way, not that there’s anything wrong with that)
- THE girl
- Went into finance (instead of advertising — dolla dolla bills y’all)
- Took a job in the valley (instead of a better one in Northern California)
- Left my Chinese consulting project to come home for a job with a good salary (which fell through)
The list can go on. It sounds like a dirty laundry list of coulda woulda shouldas. But I don’t entirely regret or resent these decisions. Each was made consciously, with tremendous consideration and analysis. These were deliberate choices. They were always the safe choices. I realize now that collectively, I chose to be mediocre.
Of course, this is something I’ve realized in the past. I’m always preaching to choose life. I always advocate spontaneity, trying new things, getting into trouble, etc. Like one of those movies about living life to the fullest (don’t most movies have this message?). I want to be a Yes Man (like Jim Carrey). And in many ways, I’ve been getting better. Peering out of my shell just a little bit more each year. Trying a little harder to do what I want. Being willing to be just a little more irresponsible.
This is why I am a little perturbed by a couple decisions I have recently made. I am electing to move back home, ostensibly to save money on rent. I was going to balance this “safe” choice with something a little irresponsible: I intended to take some of the money that I was saving (most of it, actually), and put it into a car. A dream car: the 2007 M Coupe. Many of you know that I’ve been so excited about this I haven’t been able to sleep. However, today I got some bad news. BMW told me that I need a cosigner because I’ve never had a car loan before. Of course this is something that I can overcome, but it also gives me a way out of the deal.
Right now, I am seriously leaning towards passing on the car. This is very clearly a smart choice. For what I’d pay monthly for the car, I can pay off all of my revolving debt in one year. I can also save over $4000 in insurance (stupid race cars). I will have more money, but I won’t know what to spend it on. That’s about it. It’s going to be a very boring year. I’ll be driving a pickup and living in the valley.
I can talk just about anyone into agreeing with my point of view on this (thanks to the extensive due diligence). A week ago, when I found the car, I had everyone agreeing that I should do it. Now that I’m reconsidering, everyone close to me thinks passing is the right choice. This is not very helpful. I think what I want to know is, what would you do? Put yourself in my situation. If you aren’t into cars, replace that M Coupe with something that would put a smile on your face everyday. Is this a mistake worth making?
