The Power of Choice

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I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to invest in life experiences.

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The other day I was watching an episode of NYPD Blue (because who doesn’t love the legendary Dennis Franz as Detective Andy Sipowicz?).

The episode centered on a financial crime gone horribly wrong.

One of the young adults involved was caught, brought into the precinct, and questioned.

He wasn’t the ringleader, but he was devastated by how it all turned out (and believe me, it was horrific).

Eventually he confessed.

As Detective Sipowicz walked away, the young man muttered to himself, “Man… I had me a good future.”

That line stopped me cold.

The Weight of a Single Decision

That line muttered by that young man perfectly captures the power of choice.

That young man had a choice: to take a shortcut for fast money or to keep living his life the right way.

One decision changed the entire trajectory of his future.

And while most of us aren’t making life-or-death choices, we are making decisions every day that shape the direction of our lives.

Sometimes those decisions look like this:

• “Someday when things lighten up at work, I’ll finally take that trip.”

• “Someday when I have more money, I’ll start living the life I actually want.”

• “Someday after I pay off this debt, I’ll start doing the things I’ve always dreamed about.”

But here’s the truth: “someday” never comes.

And before you know it, you’re 65 years old wondering where the time went.

The Illusion of “Someday”

I recently came across some statistics that have me shaking my head:

• 88% of full-time employees had access to paid vacation in 2024

• Yet 46% didn’t use all of their PTO

• And among those who did take time off, 68% still worked while on vacation

I get it, we are all busy.

Or we simply tell ourselves that we’re too busy.

That responsibilities, deadlines, and careers come first.

And to a degree that’s true.

Sure, we all need to work to keep a roof over our heads.

But the question is: at what cost?

At what point do you stop building someone else’s dream and start prioritizing your own?

My Own Crossroads

When I practiced law, I was often exhausted, unfulfilled, and started to lose sight of why I ever wanted to practice law in the first place.

Then I made a choice.

The same kind of risky, uncomfortable choice most people avoid.

I walked away.

Despite having over $220,000 in student loan debt to become a lawyer, I walked away from it all.

It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made.

But it was also the one that gave me everything I wanted out of life.

Time. Balance. Adventure.

Today, I spend weekends off-grid in my camper, summers in Europe, and take cross-country road trips from New York City to Wyoming.

I traded status for peace of mind (and time outside an office).

And I wouldn’t go back for anything.

What’s the Point of All This?

The point is to emphasize that every decision (big or small) is a fork in the road.

Most people stick to the safe path because it’s familiar.

But the safe path often leads to quiet dissatisfaction.

You don’t need to quit your career tomorrow.

But you do need to start making choices that move you closer to the life you actually want.

Not the one you’ve settled for.

Because, as that young man on NYPD Blue reminded me, even the best future can vanish (or is vanishing) because of a single choice.

The Final Point

You can’t control how much time you have left.

But you can control how you use the time you have.

Every day you have a choice: to wait for “someday” or to start living today.

The difference between the two is the difference between dreaming of a good future and actually having one.

Quote that caught my attention:

"The fact is that most people would work much harder to hang on to what they have than they would to take the risks necessary to get what they really want from their lives."

—Tony Robbins

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

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