Procrastination cost me recently. For some reason, I haven’t been procrastinating on the big things. Instead, it’s been the little things I keep pushing aside because it won’t take too long to do them once I get around to it. But those little things pile up and become big enough to be detrimental to what I was trying to accomplish. I need to change that now.
I’m learning that I don’t have time to get everyone’s opinion on things. Which means that I need to be much more selective in future events to make sure I cover all the bases.
I’ve been thinking a bit about what I would do if I don’t get into an MBA school. I’m thinking about going to a local community college to develop a more technical skill set. I’m thinking about studying for the CFA, and taking visits to UCLA/NYU/Kellogg/MIT/Chicago and maybe even reapply to Harvard next year. I’m thinking about studying music like crazy. Maybe not so much the violin, but more guitar, since it’s just easier for me intonation wise. I’m thinking about just reading a lot. A LOT. I just bought a Kindle which actually helps me read a lot more often and for longer with its awesome display that is much easier on the eyes than the LCD screens are and it’s light and easy to read while holding with one hand (I’m really, really glad I picked it up, and at $139, wasn’t all too expensive either). In the last couple days have gone through all of Genesis and half of Exodus and I would like to finish the Bible from cover to cover by the end of this year for the first time in two decades. (I’m actually surprised about how much of what I remember of the Genesis… I haven’t read anything that I don’t remember). I would also like to pick up on the Koran and do more of world’s religions studies as well. My goal is to become a master at both revealed and natural theology.
I’m also thinking about what I would do if I did get in. Well, I would make sure I have very little money, so that I’m more likely to receive grants/scholarships/loans. I realize that sounds like I’m lying or cheating, but I’m really not. It simply means that I need to be more strategic on how I allocate money now. For example, I need to pay down my credit card balance transfer earlier, rather than waiting until September 2011 when my APR goes up from 0%. It also means that I will not sell my car until after I get my grant/scholarship offers. It also means that I may potentially put more money into my Roth IRA this year, since retirement assets of less than $100,000 are not counted towards money I can use towards an MBA school. It also meant that I sold my stocks that actually lost money (a hundred dollars total) last year, so that it will count as tax credit towards my yearly income that was much higher than this year would be. Looking at all those things I’ve been doing, it’s becoming more clear to me that I’ve definitely developed a much more finance driven mindset than I had coming out of undergrad.
I’m also thinking about when I would quit my job if I did get in, and why then. I want to spend at least a month in Korea to see a physical therapist for my neck and back, and hopefully reconcile that difficulty once and for all before starting out with school. Since my friend Matt and Sung are both there, and I know a couple other friends who may be going to Korea this summer, I figure it might be a good time to go. But if the mission this year does end up in Italy, then that cuts my schedule down by quite a bit. School would start in August, mission in Italy would be in July, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do a half-assed job of rehabilitation.