Every time we have to make a choice we are faced with an opportunity cost. Using an example in your professional life, identify a situation where you were presented with a choice, the opportunity cost of the choice you made, and the process you used to make your choice. As part of your discussion, explain whether or not responsible stewardship played a role in your choice. Remember to use the appropriate economic concepts and terminology that are applicable to your answer.

In my professional life a situation that I can identify where I was faced with a choice that I had to make that was very risky at the time was accepting my current job. It happened eight years ago when due to a gross abuse of trust, I needed to validate if the business model I had spent the previous 14 years was the optimal place to continue investing my energy and time. From reading the Module assignment, I was recalled of the process I went through to make the decision: " ... the economic model is quite simple: if the benefit of taking on an activity is greater than the cost of the activity, then do it! What is interesting is that each of us makes that evaluation of the benefits and the costs based on the best information that we have available" (Perspective, n. d.). The "best information" available to me at that time was the years of experience in the business model employed by Sherley that my wife and I had worked 70-80 hours per week to produce a $200,000 per year income with over $60,000 of which was recurring residual income that required less than $6,000 per year in explicit costs. One of the most obvious trade-offs would be that if I left the firm for another, I would be required to relinquish my interests that created the residual income and therefore would force me to return to the long work-weeks. Staying with Sherley and reducing the size of the office and its scope allowed me to reduce my workload to 5-10 hours per week. As a result I was enabled to engage in volunteer activities that had been the implicit cost during the building phase of the business. By maintaining my Sherley book of business and the offices I override, I am able to net a $55,000 per year profit with less effort while greatly appreciating the value of my energy and time with my family, friends and society.

The responsible stewardship that involved in this endeavours guide me to use familiar and person resources that will enable is successful in my business. Moreover, the core value of responsible stewardships create an professional environment to use resources that promote an active-learning community along with my wife based on information sharing through practical and life experiences. These experiences coupled with explicit opportunity costs created a rich learning environment.