On scary decisions

One of my favorite pieces of content is The Risk Not Taken by Andy Dunn. If you've ever had to make a tough decision, I would highly recommend reading it. 

Scary decisions are not unique to entrepreneurs. They are universal as people go from one phase of their life to another. Whether it's dropping out of school or proposing to your girlfriend or moving to a country 10 time zones away. . 

For entrepreneurs, this decision is compounded by the fact that once you take the leap into being involved in a start-up full time, your entire life changes - stability gets thrown out the window, friendships start deteriorating and on some days, stress levels make you question if any of this is worth it. 

Here's the thing - it depends on who you are and your ability to stomach all the ups and downs while building a company, managing your employees, reporting to your board and working on your personal life. The only thing I can say for certain is that it you always need to be pushing forward. Building a company is not an easy task. It is one that requires determination to succeed when the entire world is against you. 

But, scary decisions are easily mitigated by knowing that despite success or failure, you can always go back to your previous life. It may take you a bit longer, but your perspective and outlook on everything will change - regardless of outcome. 

Scary decisions are only scary because of the unknown. And to quote H.P. Lovercraft:

““The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ”

The best thing about scary things? They're temporary. They last for a quick second and then they're gone. 

Experiencing the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The 2014 World Cup had seen enough controversy even before it got started - poverty, corruption and danger. However, just like Sochi, some of it is hype and some of it is real. 

I had a chance to visit Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and in a few words - it was amazing! 

It was a very last minute trip and the process couldn't have been any smoother. I walked into the Brazilian consulate in New York and applied for a FIFA World Cup visa. The process took a few days and cost me nothing. I picked up my visa, booked a flight to São Paulo from New York, switched to the domestic airport after picking up a friend and flew to Rio. 

Before touchdown in Rio, there was a bit of celebration at the airport as Argentinean fans were celebrating on the ground and mid-air. 

Upon landing in Rio, the city airport had a lot of FIFA booths promoting the games and the energy was on an all-time high. 

Getting in a cab was straight forward and navigating to the hotel was painless. 

However, once at the hotel, the check-in process was slow and brutal. For an event as large as the World Cup, many hotels were not prepared for international language speakers, making it challenging to navigate. Thankfully, Google Maps was incredibly helpful and worked flawlessly in Rio. 

The first day, we played tourist - going up to the Cristo and exploring the nightlife. 

The second day, we tried to scalp tickets to the Argentina v. Bosnia game without any luck. Either the ticket prices were unaffordable or there were too many fakes in the market.

Instead, we decided to watch the game at the FIFA Fan Fest, which was an amazing environment and incredibly fun. 

The food, the people, the culture and the hospitality were absolutely spectacular. And an experience I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy. 

If you're still on the edge of going to Brazil for the World Cup or any other major sporting event, I would highly recommend making the leap and going for it. 

Believing in Yourself

Through a series of missteps, I had dinner with a friend on the final night of Memorial Day weekend. Apart from catching up, we spent time discussing deeper things that we all deal with – careers, work and personal situations.

Although this person is a friend, in my professional opinion as someone who has produced 200+ TV shows, I can confidently say that she is one of the better people suitable for a job that requires on camera experience. Her current gig? Entirely different.

And she’s not alone. I was once in that bucket and every once in a while still am. It takes a lot of courage to go out and do the one thing that the system has failed to do – believe in your self. The system is designed to be a series of education levels, job promotions, two-week vacations and a path to retirement.

I have yet to find anyone who agrees with that

But, the system is not designed for failure. The system is designed for success and learning through failure. I can’t even count the amount of times, me or my ideas have been rejected. You will always ether be too young or too old to have a relationship with someone. You will always either be too rich or too poor to afford certain items. And you will – always – have the world against you regardless of how good your ideas are.

Fortunately, none of that matters.

My mentor and the one and only person who taught me photography was 70 when I met him. I had dinner with him and his wife at their house when my grandmother passed away and when the rest of my family was dealing with the rituals. Age doesn’t matter. Relationships do.

4 years ago, I couldn’t truly afford a plane ticket to Bangkok for my brother and I. Last year, we flew to Hong Kong for 2 days in business class. Money doesn’t matter. Experiences do.

3 years ago, the studio I was running and was the majority investor in, didn’t have enough money in its bank account to buy another meal. Less than 24 hours later, we booked a campaign that saved us from shutting our doors. Safety doesn’t matter. Believing in yourself does.

3 years ago, I was fired from my first adult job. 72 hours after that, I was hired to run ad campaigns for two of the largest companies in the world. Failure doesn’t matter. Courage does.

Life is a about experiences and people that you meet. Make it worth your while and make sure that you believe in you. Others do, so why not you?