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:

If you made bad partner choice, it’s up to you to make a change
I wasn’t allowed to express need, so I’ve spent life traveling alone
What really matters in life? Hardly any of the things we worry about
Need for certainty is an internal tyranny that leads to the wrong path
What if ‘the Good Old Days’ were never as good as you remember?
My mother was more impressive than my father led me to believe
When governments keep secrets, you’re probably being lied to
Tradeoffs about values leave me feeling like ‘double-minded man’