I was invited to an exclusive type of conference for entrepreneurs. You know, the one where the guests are part of the in-crowd. Honored to go, I checked the ticket price. With travel it was $10,000.
Deciding whether or not to attend, I felt a cross-current of different feelings.
On one hand, seeing the guest list, it’s hard to not feel like you want to be in that “in” group. Some of them are podcasters that you know.
I also felt the immediate tinge of fear and feeling like an imposter. I don’t feel like I have the perfect “pitch” and I worry someone will say hi and then when they learn about me, want to talk to someone else in stead.
And then I went through the business check-in. Come on, this is good for your business!
You should go in there and make connections and make something happen. I started wondering if it would have an ROI. Which of course is the exact wrong way to go into this type of thing. The event owner even tells you specifically this is about hanging out and it’s very low-structure.
It’s in this cross-current that I started to recognize myself justifying.
It wasn’t that I was simply excited to go. It was a complicated set of different thoughts that were batting at one another.
This is a telltale sign of a NO.
Justification is the mind making up stories about a feeling that isn’t there.
“But but but…” basically comes after something you don’t actually want.
So how did I make this expensive and potentially high impact decision?
First, I let myself sleep on it. It’s good for most people to take 24 hours on anything because that allows your energy to find its equilibrium.
Second, it’s helpful to make some distinctions. I clarified for myself this distinction: Is this for personal satisfaction, or for business? I realized I didn’t need the personal part (the nice hotel, the beautiful location, etc.). I also didn’t have anything to pitch.
Third, I talked with a friend. It was funny to get his reaction. “$10k! That’s Crazy!” He said something wise; “If you could spend $10k on anything, would it be this?”
I realized that I would definitely pay $10k, and even more, for certain types of experiences. For meeting certain types of people. I would probably pay $10k to go on a hike with Kevin Kelly, for example. In fact I could (link), and should.
Now that it’s a No, I have an exciting feeling because I have a freshly recouped and imagined $10k that I can spend on anything I want. That’s a good exercise.
With the ability to treat yourself to anything…how would you spend $10k?
xx David
Love this!