I first heard the great Thomas Sowell saying this many years ago.
But it’s so important that it bears repeating, time and time again.
There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
When you're looking for a full-on solution to a problem, you need to realize there's no full-on solution that's going to solve every aspect of that problem.
What you have to do instead is to look for what the trade-off is going to be.
You may win a bit here.
You may lose a little bit there.
That's ok if overall you're moving in the right direction.
While it’s tempting to view our days as an amusement park with unlimited rides, that’s not really true...In fact, we each have a limited number of tickets to trade in. Limited time, limited opportunities, limited money and other resources. How will you spend today’s tickets? -Seth Godin
This app might be good, but pricey.
That one is easy to use, but can't do everything you want it to do.
Trade-offs are not always straightforward or simple.
Should your son go to a university or get a full-time job?
Should you stay in the office or go home?
Is your default "Let's get a meeting on it" or "Let's go asynchronous"?
Would you rather go to a Bruce Springsteen concert or sit in the class?
When pitching your business, are you using concrete language that is easier to understand or abstract language that is more aspirational?
Are your customers buying your stuff for pleasure or practical reasons?
Is your goal to inform them or entertain them?
Are you going for clarity or brevity?
When you have your audience’s attention, is it earned or paid for?
Are you good at zooming out at the high 10,000m to drive the strategy and then zooming in at 10m above ground to execute?
Do you know when to lead and when to follow?
When to get close to your people and when to have hard conversations with them?
When to be disciplined and when rigid?
Whenever you say yes to one thing, you are saying no to another.
That’s the definition of a trade-off.
If you understand that, you can stop chasing mice and start hunting antelopes.
Occasionally, choosing to take no action is the right decision to make.
It's better to rest than to climb the wrong mountain.
It's better to do nothing than to work on something that doesn't matter.
It's better to be alone than to spend time with toxic people.
Interestingly, the dichotomy of life is, if you do what's easy in the short term, your life will be hard.
If you do what is hard in the short term, your life will get easier.
Christopher Hitchens once said that you have to choose your regrets.
It's important to understand you'll have regrets no matter what.
Be wise, choose the right ones.
And don't forget.
The donkey died, but you don't have to.
Go do.
PS. Do you struggle to set yourself apart from your competitors? Does your tone of voice lack a little personality? Either way, get in touch and I’ll help you become remarkable. Or get more communication advice that doesn't suck here.
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