When I was younger, I thought constantly about the things I wanted to accomplish, because we live in a society that’s geared toward achievement. But when I was being encouraged to dream big back then, nobody ever warned me about tradeoffs. Nobody warned me that you give up some things in order to pursue other things. I was under the impression I could have it all.
I’ve thought a lot about choices in the past few years. For a long time, I tried to avoid making choices, because I looked at life as a buffet where you just kept adding to your plate. Maybe my metaphor wasn’t too far off, but I didn’t realize that the “plate” we have in life is of a limited size. If your plate is full, something has to come off as you add more to it.
If you devote yourself to pursuing a dream of some kind — wealth, fame, early retirement, whatever the carrot dangling in front of you is — you always give up something else. Only you can decide which tradeoffs are worth it — and nobody can spare you from the certainty of having to make the choices, whether they’re conscious or unconscious.
As I thought about this Monday night, I was reminded of a quote from investment guru Jim Rogers. In his book, “Investment Biker,” he discussed the tradeoffs involved in pursuing whatever it is you want:

Lack of specific needs and wants makes my world feel meaningless
Will we build a loving world or will we focus on hate and hell?
Weddings are triumphs of love and hope over reasonable fears
76-year-old George is a showman who loves making audience smile
Lennon had ‘wrong ambitions,’ but became cultural icon anyway
Should I become prophet of doom or fade quietly into the darkness?
Don’t ever make politicians angry or they might assassinate you, too
What evil lives in the heart of man who can kill his wife, kids?