Playing the Long Game

Last night was one of the greatest days in sports: the NBA Draft. I know, I know, you probably think that sounds ridiculous. I may be in a rare camp with that opinion, but I love the NBA. I especially love the NBA Draft. It's one of those moments where we have the opportunity to watch, in real-time, as young men experience their dreams coming true. They have likely been working for 15+ years, pouring out their blood, sweat, and tears, all leading up to this very moment. It's a beautiful thing!

While most of us probably won't get drafted by a professional sports team, I think we have something to learn from these young men: the value of the long game. What these players have been working for all these years is the opposite of instant gratification. Rather, they poured their souls into their craft, often behind the scenes, in hopes of one day achieving their ultimate goal. There are so many parallels between this and our lives. In a world that says we need to be instantly rewarded for every single act, this idea of delayed gratification flies in the face of our culture.

The best things in life often require the greatest amount of patience. We work, work, work, and work some more, then one day, we get what we finally deserve. It's not always fun, and it can sometimes get frustrating.....painfully frustrating. But that's what work that matters requires of us. We must do the right thing for the right reasons, repeat, and remain patient. Then one day, we get to reap the harvest. It's hard, but simple.

This principle is relevant in all areas of work, money, relationships, and pretty much every area of life. So every time you find yourself getting frustrated at the lack of results, remember some people wait decades to reap the harvest. Your harvest may be just around the corner!

Muscle Memory

I absolutely love the NBA playoffs. Growing up west of Chicago in the 90s, there was nothing better than watching the Bulls raise a banner nearly every year. Though I’m no longer a Bulls fan (see The Last Dance if you’re curious why), the NBA has stuck with me for decades. The other night, as I was watching another stellar Lakers/Warriors game, a very peculiar play unfolded before my eyes.

Let me summarize how I saw it. As the Warriors were settling into their half-court offense, Andrew Wiggins penetrated and kicked the ball out to Draymond Green. Draymond catches it and immediately swings the ball to his right. However, instead of the pass being received by a teammate, it landed directly in the hands of the Lakers’ head coach. On the surface, Draymond looked like an absolute fool. But did you see the look on his face? He was utterly confused. It wasn’t the look of someone who made a boneheaded play, but rather someone who knew exactly what they were doing and didn’t understand the outcome.

Upon further review, the rest of the truth came out. Nobody was there to receive the pass because said missing player, Gary Payton II, walked off the court mid-play. In a weird twist of events, Payton seemingly vomited in his mouth, motioned to the bench he needed to come out, then proceeded to quickly walk off the court where he would eventually vomit (presumably in a receptacle). Aside from this odd sequence of events, I was increasingly fascinated by Draymond’s pass. Though the play ultimately resulted in a turnover (#vomitgate), Draymond’s intuition and playmaking were astounding. Without even looking or thinking, he delivered a crisp pass to what was supposed to be a non-vomiting teammate. It’s evidence of how long he’s been playing the sport and honing his craft. It’s pure muscle memory at this point.

I was reminded of this play yesterday when I was meeting with a client. Like Draymond, this couple has developed astounding muscle memory. Doing this financial stuff wasn’t natural for them when we started, but after a year of repetition and commitment, they are significantly locked in. Their life hasn’t been perfect and they’ve encountered their fair share (if not more) of challenges and struggles. Through it, their muscle memory leads them back to the same place: intentionality and teamwork toward their mission and goals. They know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to do it. This is why developing healthy financial habits and skills is so important. When we lean into it enough times over a long enough period of time, we create muscle memory that allows us to naturally navigate the journey without having to spend much time and energy on it. It becomes second-nature and just a rhythm of our life.

I don’t know if Draymond and the Warriors will end the season as champions this year, but I can promise you this couple will. Once muscle memory sets in, there’s nothing they can’t accomplish when they set their mind to it. It wasn’t an easy journey getting here, but they earned it!

The Psychological Impact of Sunk Costs

I thought you deserve an update on my NBA play-in game ticket debacle. After literally everything working against me, I had two tickets to last night’s 8-seed play-in game (which cost a total of $550)…..and nobody to go with me. As the week played out, I continually debated what to do about the situation.

So here’s where I was a few days ago. Due to the trainwreck that is the Minnesota Timberwolves organization, ticket prices plummeted for an event they should have increased for. That will happen when one of your best players punches another player, and a different player punches a wall and breaks his hand. As a result, I had two tickets worth a total of $250….down $300 from when I originally purchased them. Whenever I discussed this situation with people, their collective reaction was something along the lines of “Obviously you have to go, otherwise you lost $300.”

This is a very typical way of looking at the situation, but not the right way. This is where the idea of sunk costs comes into play. There’s no way around it, I already spent $550 on these tickets. There’s no undoing that or wishing it away. That’s referred to as a sunk cost….the price that has already been paid for something. What I originally paid for the tickets is absolutely irrelevant to the decision in front of me. It happened and the money is already gone from my bank account.

I had two primary choices in front of me. I could sell the tickets for $250, or I could keep the tickets, add $50 of fuel costs to the equation, and road trip to the game. Put in those terms, going to the game would cost me $300 and not going to the game would give me $300. This decision has to be made without regard for the original $550 of sunk costs. Do I want to stay home and have $300 or pay $300 to go to the game? It’s a much different decision when we look at it that way.

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to think this way. The moment I decide to sell these tickets, I solidify the financial and emotional loss of my mistake. However, what if I didn’t want to go to the game now? Stubbornly thinking with my pride would have cost me $300 for an experience I didn’t want. This is the same psychological warfare that causes us to stay in toxic relationships, hold onto bad financial investments, and stay in crappy jobs. We’ve put so much into them (time, money, energy, love, etc.) and we don’t want to realize the loss. However, we need to disregard the sunk costs. Instead, we need to ask ourselves what the cost/upside is from today. If we’re in a terrible relationship, for example, we can choose to either a) leave and move on to a better life (recognizing the past 6 weeks, 6 months, or 6 years may have been garbage), or b) linger in misery, hoping to rectify a bad situation and justify the misery experienced the past 6 weeks, 6 months, or 6 years. The sunk costs often mess with us, resulting in us inadvertently causing further harm/pain. I know I’ve fallen for that trap before!

So what did I do about the tickets? After much consideration, I decided $300 is still a worthwhile price to pay for a memorable experience and to check off a bucket list item. My buddy TJ even came with me! It was fun gifting him a ticket and sharing that experience together. Considering we didn’t get home until the middle of the night, additional thoughts/reflections on the experience will have to wait for another day. Have a great Saturday!

Can't Win 'Em All

On Saturday, I was struck with a brilliant idea. Ok, maybe it wasn’t brilliant……but in my head it was! The Minnesota Timberwolves were a near lock for the 9th seed in the NBA’s Western Conference, meaning they would host a home play-in game on Wednesday night. Considering this is a borderline bucket list item for me, the idea of road-tripping to this game excited me. That’s when my second brilliant idea surfaced. My buddy, Keaton, is a Minneapolis resident and a huge Timberwolves fan. It was then and there that I decided to buy fantastic seats for that game and gift my friend an awesome experience. He said he was in, I bought the tickets, and I rearranged my schedule. Investing in memories, notching off a bucket list item, and giving an awesome gift to a friend…….such a cool situation! Brilliant, right?!?!

Second tier, front row, mid-court…….

What happened next is where it all came crumbling down. The Timberwolves go on to win their final two games and other teams lost theirs. Translation: the Wolves moved up in the standings and weren’t going to host this game in Minnesota. Huge bummer! All is not lost, fortunately, as I’ll get a refund because the game got canceled…..or so I thought. The ticket system considered this game “play-in game #1.” Little did I know, but if the Wolves lose this first game (played last night), they would play a second play-in game on Friday night at home. Well, I knew that part. The part I didn’t know is that Friday’s home game would now be considered “play-in game #1.” In other words, I may still have two expensive tickets to Friday night’s game……which my friend can’t attend.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are a mess. One of their best players punched a teammate during a huddle in the season finale, resulting in a one-game suspension (for last night’s game), and another player, in anger, punched a wall at halftime and broke his hand (out indefinitely). Did I mention they were playing at the Lakers, where Lebron and AD are getting hot at the right moment? Not looking so good for the Wolves……which means it might not look so good for me. How’d it all play out? Last night’s game was an overtime thriller, with the Lakers pulling it out. Therefore, it looks like I have two expensive tickets for a game I can’t take my friend to. Ouch.

Brilliant idea, horrible outcome. I never would have known had I not tried. I don’t regret it at all and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Oh well, nothing worth doing is ever easy or perfect. I’ll definitely do something dumb like this again in the future, and that one may work out to be one of the best outcomes ever……or it too could blow up in my face, again. You can’t win ‘em all.

I Don't Even Remember the Cost

Ten years ago, my buddy Nick was about to have his first child. In a moment of panic, he called me and said we need to fly to Dallas to watch Dirk Nowitzki play before the baby arrives (insinuating this could be his last chance to make that dream a reality). I immediately said yes, but added one condition: “we’re only going to do this if we sit courtside.”

Nick’s next question was obvious, “well how much will those seats cost?”

Me: “no idea, but it doesn’t matter.”

He reluctantly said yes! We quickly bought our plane tickets, hotel room, and game tickets. Then, we waited. He and I shared an amazing experience that weekend. Lots of good food, sights, and of course a Mavs game with a courtside view. Our seats were along the sideline in the direct path to the locker room. So to end our experience, Nick fist-bumped the entire team as they exited the court. Jason Terry, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom…….and yes, Dirk Nowitzki!

To this day, I don’t remember what we paid for those seats, or what the trip cost for that matter. But those memories, shared experiences, and stories will last a lifetime. It’s a small but powerful example of investing in memories. My stuff will eventually die in a landfill, but these memories are forever.