Delivering Happiness

End of an Era
I was back in San Francisco two weeks later, eating my turkey melt dipped
in chicken noodle soup at Mel’s Diner as I had promised myself. It tasted
better than I had remembered. I took my time eating, trying to savor each
and every bite.
I felt like I’d been to hell and back, and I had a whole new appreciation
of the comforts of living in modern Western society. Showering and indoor
toilets felt like luxuries.
As I sat at Mel’s eating my turkey melt, I thought about what to do about
Zappos. We had about a month of cash left before we were out of business.
While I was in Africa, an offer for the party loft had indeed come through,
but then the buyer backed out at the last minute because a fortune-teller had
told her that the feng shui of the place would not be good for her.
I couldn’t help but laugh when my real estate agent told me the story. I
couldn’t believe that the fate of the entire company rested on the advice of a
fortune-teller.
I told my real estate agent to lower the price again.
A
couple weeks later, with only two weeks’ worth of cash left at Zappos, I
received an offer for 40 percent below the price that I had originally paid
for the party loft. It would have been customary to spend some time
negotiating, but I didn’t have time. So I accepted the offer immediately,
trying not to think about the huge loss I was taking on the property.
As I signed the paperwork, I also tried not to think about all the great
times and parties that so many people had been a part of during the glory
days of Club BIO. I tried not to think of the blond girl who was next to me
at the window on New Year’s, talking about the universe while we gazed
down at the swirling lights of the fire trucks below.
Selling the party loft symbolized the end of an era for me. It was hard
not to feel wistful and nostalgic. The loft had created so many experiences
and memories for so many people.

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A
s soon as the deal closed, I transferred the money to Zappos and felt an
overwhelming sense of relief. We had bought ourselves another six months
before we would need more cash.
My parents weren’t particularly thrilled that I had put all of my money
into Zappos. They asked me if I was sure that I wanted to give up all that
money, and I told them I was.
Alfred told me, “As your friend and financial adviser, I’m advising you
not to do it. It might pay off in the long run, but it’s not worth the risk of
being completely broke.”
I thought about Fred, how he had taken the leap of faith when he first
joined Zappos because he believed in what was possible. He had given up a
great career, just bought a new house, and had kids to take care of. He had
risked his entire life for the Zappos dream.
I told Alfred I was going to follow Fred’s footsteps and do the same
thing. We had taken it this far, and I wanted to see how far we could take
Zappos. Even if Zappos failed, we would know that we had done
everything we could to chase a dream we believed in.
Now we had another six months of runway to figure things out. We
weren’t sure exactly how we were going to do it, but I was absolutely sure
of one thing.
I never wanted to have to deal with another fortune-teller again.