FBC – 306 – The judgment call that can make or break your life…

Today we are going to talk about the biggest price that some of us paid (and are still paying today) because of a judgment call they made years ago.

There is a formula that you can apply so that things don't end up costing you your whole financial life.

I break down my formula inside this episode.

For those interested in creating a kick-ass lifestyle, here is the link to the only system that allows you to achieve it in no time.

https://martinebongue.com/profit-machines

I saw this quote and I think this quote is brilliant and everybody should hear it. It says, well, if you think that education is expensive, try ignorance. And I absolutely love this quote because indeed, you know people well, it depends on where you live. Right.

So if you're living in the US and stuff, you know, a lot of you guys are in the US. I mean, going to college is so expensive. It's crazy. You know, everything is relative. But it's a lot more expensive than education we have in France. So in France, you can go to university for like three hundred euros for the whole year or something. Everybody has access to education.

OK, so indeed, college will cost you some money and stuff. And I told you recently about being able to learn from people who actually made it already and can show you the ropes and the shortcuts and stuff. But basically you need to choose the right people, the people who actually did it. Right now, people are telling you that they've never done it themselves.

And, you know, a lot of the time people are saying, oh, man, Jesus Christ is expensive. And yes, you know, it's expensive. It's relative. Right. It's very relative to your circumstances and stuff like that. So two hundred dollars might be nothing for you. Well, not nothing, but not a big sacrifice because you do have disposable income where for someone else it could be that they have to save and stuff.

So expensive means different things to different people. Right. So two thousand bucks. It's not expensive for Jeff Bezos or for Bill Gates. It's not might be expensive for you, might be expensive for other people, but it's not expensive for that person. So please understand that the term expensive is very relative.

And indeed, you know, like if you buy a course for let's say five hundred dollars, people will say it's crazy expensive right now. I do understand. But here is the thing. This is when this quote comes into play, because if you invest those 500 bucks, it will give you access to a whole other level of opportunity and knowledge.

The judgment call that can make or break your life…

Where if you don't, then you will stay where you are and it will cost you for the rest of your life. So I'm not saying that just to scare people off and stuff like go buy some stuff. There are people I know when we were students, where after the second year, we have a diploma. At least we had. I don't know if it's still the case, but we had a diploma after the second year, third year, and fourth year.

And then after that was master's. And then afterwards you could do postmaster's degree. Right. So after the second year, then you could have a diploma. And I remember one example where someone was like, yeah, you know what, that's it. I'm gone. I'm quitting. I want to make some money. And then they left university a few months from actually getting the diploma to go out and work in a call center.

So at the time, you know, when you're like, I don't know, nineteen or something like that, you know, 19 or 20 a what we call like minimum wage, you know, minimum wage sounds like a lot of money because, you know, when you're a student, you're broke. Right.

So when you have that, you might be making five times more than regular students. Right. So at the time, it seems really cool. But here's the thing. The catch is that because of this if you choose to go and make the money like very quickly, in a lot of cases, in the majority of cases, you might get stuck there.

So I kept telling that person, dude, you know, just wait a few months, you get your diploma. It's not like you have to wait four years or something. At least you have it and it will help you get access to better jobs.

So the person went and did this and then afterwards for the rest of their life, they were kind of stuck to the same kind of job and couldn't access the other ones. So basically the person started making like minimum wage, I don't know, like, let's say two years before me or someone who goes all the way to Masters. Right.

But then afterwards, for the rest of their life, they're stuck at minimum wage, whereas the person with a masters will actually go and start making a lot more money, maybe like four or five times whatever that person is making for the rest of their life. All right.

So I'm not saying that the person who left school and stuff was ignorant. I'm not saying this. I'm saying that the knowledge that you acquire might seem expensive short term, but you have to look long term.

What is this knowledge going to do for you for the rest of your life? Because if for the rest of your life, for example, you're able, because of that knowledge, to earn ten thousand bucks, for example, instead of a thousand bucks, do you do you really think it's expensive? The fact of not actually going investing in that is going to be a lot more expensive for the rest of your life. OK.

So I'm saying this is how you need to see things. All right? It's not just now, man. Try to look at things long term and making a decision on this is this going to help you get access to better opportunities or better job or something for the rest of your life.

One Bad Judgment Call Can Undo A Decade Of Good Ones

Most of your decisions genuinely do not matter, and that is the trap. You get so used to small, reversible choices that you handle the rare enormous one with the same casual speed, and that is exactly how good people quietly wreck years of hard work. The partnership you rushed into, the contract you signed without reading, the opportunity you grabbed because it felt urgent. The stakes were not obvious in the moment, and that is precisely what made them dangerous.

What I learned is to notice the weight of a decision before I make it, not after. When a choice is hard to reverse and its downside is large, I deliberately slow down, sleep on it, and ask what happens if I am wrong, not just what happens if I am right. That single habit of matching my speed to the stakes has protected me more than any bold move ever did. A decade of solid decisions deserves better than being undone by one careless afternoon. I have told some of these turning-point stories on the Freedom by Choice podcast and in my story. On decision-making under real pressure, Harvard Business Review is worth reading, and McKinsey Digital publishes seriously on how good operators weigh consequential choices. Match your speed to the stakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is education really worth the investment for entrepreneurs?

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. The cost of not knowing something compounds over your entire life. If investing in the right knowledge helps you earn ten thousand instead of one thousand, the initial price becomes irrelevant. Think long term, not just about the upfront cost.

How do you choose the right mentors to learn from?

Only learn from people who have actually done what they teach. Many so called experts have never built what they claim to teach. Look for people with real results, not just polished presentations. The right mentor saves you years of trial and error by showing you the shortcuts that actually work.

Why do people hesitate to invest in their own education?

Because they only see the immediate cost without calculating the long term return. Education is relative to your circumstances, but the judgment call to invest or not invest in yourself is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. The cost of staying ignorant is always higher than the cost of learning.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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