I can't remember the cost
A few years ago, I decided to earn my MBA while continuing to work full-time.
It wasn't cheap.
The funny thing is, I honestly can't remember what I gave up to pay for it.
Maybe it was part of a bonus.
Maybe it was a vacation I never booked.
Maybe it was dozens of small decisions spread over a few years.
I couldn't tell you anymore.
What I do remember is everything that came after.
The conversations.
The opportunities.
The confidence to tackle problems that once felt out of reach.
The money is long gone.
What it left behind isn't.
Some spending lasts
Most things we buy slowly disappear.
Phones become outdated.
Clothes wear out.
The excitement of something new usually fades faster than we expect.
But every now and then, money buys something that keeps giving long after we've forgotten paying for it.
Sometimes it's an education.
Sometimes it's a skill.
Sometimes it's simply seeing the world a little differently than you did before.
The money is gone.What it left behind isn't.
The opposite is true too
Of course, the opposite happens as well.
A credit card purchase takes only a few seconds.
The payments can stay with you for years.
Putting something off because it can wait sometimes turns into a much bigger bill later.
Money has a way of carrying yesterday's decisions into tomorrow.
Looking back
The older I get, the less I think about what something cost.
I think about what it became.
Some purchases become clutter.
Some become stories.
Some become opportunities you never saw coming.
Looking back, my MBA wasn't just something I bought.
It became part of who I am.
One final thought
Every payday eventually becomes a memory.
The dollars themselves won't last.
What they leave behind just might.
