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Once I was accepted to the weekend program, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to move to Chicago. And that was because I wanted to:

• Minimize travel: Since I work in consulting, I am frequently on the road Monday to Thursday. Traveling to Chicago over the weekend after the work travel was just not feasible - both for my physical and mental sanity. Depending on where you live, travel can take up a lot of time and energy. Again, add it up over the course of 2.5-3 years and it’s significant.
• Maintain relationships: Nothing good could come out of not being home almost all the time when you’re married. In fact, if you’re in any sort of committed relationship or want to be in one - you should consider moving.
• Maximize School Experience: Being in Chicago over the whole weekend and many time during the whole week gave me access to many events at school as well as the University of Chicago in general. If you’re traveling only over the weekend (mostly flying in Fri evening/ Sat morning and flying out Sat evening), the school experience is extremely disconnected and mostly limited to taking classes. As I have begun to realize over the course of the last few months, a lot of what b-school has to offer is outside of classes - at clubs, events, social gatherings etc. I will write more on this in a later post. 
• Minimize costs: Weekly costs to fly down and stay overnight add up significantly over the course of the 2-2.5 years.

I was lucky to have a flexible work situation and was easily able to move. For those of you who can, I highly recommend moving closer to the school.

In August 2010, I joined the Weekend MBA program at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I decided to pursue the MBA while working full time at a mid sized digital media consulting firm. At the time of joining the program, I was 32 years old, married and a resident of San Francisco. This is a chronicle of my journey through the balancing (and often conflicting) act of a full time job, a rigorous academic schedule, demanding yet fulfilling relationships, challenging career aspirations and numerous personal lessons along the way.

Through my writings I hope to achieve two purposes - First, a constant reminder to myself of the reasons why I chose this path, especially during the times when I find myself in doubt. Second, a useful insight for people who are debating the pros and cons of pursuing a part time MBA program. 

Do you ever plan a trip or always participate in one?

Do you ever call friends over on a weekend or always wait for an invite?

Do you ever decide which project you want at work or always accept the one that’s offered to you?

In order to control the outcome of your experience, you have to take steps to control your environment.

You can’t control your environment unless you plan ahead and put all the pieces in place.

You can’t plan ahead unless you know what you want.

Fancy looking graphics that take 30 seconds to load are useless

Technology for the sake of it is a waste of money. It needs to either inform, alert, attract or facilitate a sale to the customer.

Where is the map that will guide you from mediocrity to success, from the beginning of a career to its top, from the start of something new to its very end?

Unfortunately there isn’t a map anymore. You have to get behind the wheels, fire up the engine and be on your way. Let the signs on the way guide you to the destination.

99/100 times:

1. You will not meet an accident

2. The IRS will not audit you

3. You will not get fired or laid off

4. If you talk nicely to a stranger, they will talk nicely to you

5. People will support you in your endeavor

Stop procrastinating, pulling out, backing off, over analyzing, What if’ing stuff.

Is understanding risk the same as avoiding it?

Is taking risk the same as ignoring it?

Can someone take only calculated risks and be more than average successful?

Is it possible to focus on maximizing benefits versus mitigating risks?

Is acting based on fear all the time the same as buying a $12 life insurance on an airplane ride (0.0001 probability)?

1. Just because you’re in B School, you’re not smarter than the rest of the universe. Most smart people don’t go to business school - not because they couldn’t but because they either didn’t want to or didn’t need to
2. Companies on campus make you sound a lot smarter than you actually are. It’s business. Now that they’ve spent enough to interview you and hire you (in the absence of better options), they don’t want to spend more on doing it all over again. The entry level associate position is really not worth the effort for them. Accept it, feel fortunate and move on
3. Being elected president of the useless but professional sounding club should not be taken too personally. Especially when only 3 people applied and you were the only one who put in an application before the deadline. 
4. Stick a fork in your eye every time you catch yourself dropping “Core competency” and “strategic positioning” during a casual dinner conversation
5. Unfortunately you’re not type A, deal with it. It’s OK to be human
6. Getting shit faced every Thursday night does not count as life. Even more so when you’re approaching 30

That’s how it is!