I recently came across a news story about a 34-year-old athlete considering a career change, which made me feel a bit emotional. The logical flaws behind this decision are eerily similar to the countless margin calls I've seen in the crypto space over the past eight years. As someone who has been navigating this industry for years and has seen many lessons learned the hard way, today I want to highlight a few common misconceptions that can easily cause ordinary people to fail. Whether you're making investment decisions or planning your career, these three pitfalls should be avoided.

First, let's set the background: this athlete, born in 1991, is now 34 years old. Her "golden period" for prize money is probably only two or three years left. Turning to endorsements? It seems like a good path, but the reality is much harsher than imagined. The competition in the endorsement industry has become fierce—comparable to the frantic bidding wars during the initial funding rounds in the crypto market. Most importantly, brands have very strict requirements for endorsers’ personas—they must be controversy-free. Her previous complaints about work mechanisms, though minor, have already caused some small-scale buzz, directly turning her "endorsement value" into a high-risk asset. Top-tier brands won't touch her, and second- or third-tier brands will have to think twice, because there are many young, clean-image professionals waiting for opportunities. This kind of competitive pressure is like trying to double your holdings with small altcoins in a bear market—probability is so low it’s almost nonexistent.

This leads to the first key issue: **Sunk Cost Fallacy**. In crypto, this is one of the main reasons many people get margin called or face liquidation. Many investors think, "I've already invested so much time and money into this coin, selling now would be a huge loss," so they stubbornly hold on. The same mentality is evident in career change decisions. Just because you've invested so many years, it’s hard to accept the reality that "maybe this path isn’t right for me."

Looking at it calmly, this kind of decision-making is deadly in both investing and career planning. True winners are those who can recognize the situation in time and adjust their strategies decisively, rather than stubbornly holding onto risky assets or paths.