After passing through New York and having a couple of days filled with joy, opportunity, and serendipity, I found myself lamenting to my friend about how I couldn’t afford to live there.

With a medium rent of over $3000/mo for a one-bedroom apartment, the cost of being a creative with a need for space, tools, and materials felt prohibitively high.

Instead of accepting my answer, he decided to challenge me:

“How can you afford NOT to be in a place like New York?” he told me.”

“How can you afford NOT to surround yourself with the creative excellence, ambition, and talent that a place like New York attracts?

How can you afford NOT to immerse yourself with world-class collaborative opportunities that happen in a place like New York?

How can you afford NOT to put yourself in the big leagues where people play and dream as big if not bigger than you? ”

The next time you think you can’t afford to do something, maybe try flipping that script around and looking at it from the opposite direction. It just might help you gain some clarity.