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:

My old fear of looking foolish is strong incentive to do good work
Industrial age relic: Do companies pay for your time or your brain?
Take time to give honest praise, even when it’s just about a dog
Once you taste what is possible, you can’t accept being ‘normal’
Looking for truth in random noise? Or is there meaning for me in this?
Letting go of dead dreams can lead to path you need to follow
I keep forgetting that I can’t save those who don’t want to be saved
Here’s why I won’t be watching the presidential candidates ‘debate’