Most business builders
are very familiar
with the idea
of sunk costs.
Past expenses
are exactly that
– PAST expenses.
We can’t recover them.
And they shouldn’t be a factor
in future decisions.
It doesn’t make sense
to spend $100,000
to repair a
$200,000
10 year old system
when it costs
$50,000
for a brand new system.
Sunk costs
don’t simply apply to past expenses.
They apply to past decisions also.
I partnered with a new publishing entity
late last year.
It was a mistake.
I saw very little income from it
and it required a lot of work.
They wanted to partner
with me
on more of my books.
One of their arguments was
I was already
one of their writers.
To continue being
part of their team,
I should do this.
I declined.
Making the same mistake
twice
won’t fix my initial mistake.
I have more information now.
I am a different person.
(Time changes all of us.)
I made a different decision.
“When we’re not committed yet,
the cost of looking around
and switching
our choice
is small.
But once we’ve emotionally
committed to a cause
or a project
or a person,
the cost of change is high,
partly because
it involves feeling
as though
we made a mistake.
But compounding that initial choice
by doubling down on it
is the actual mistake.”
We’re different people
than we were
yesterday.
We’ll make
different decisions.
That should be expected.