You Can’t Have Everything; Focus On Doing A Few Things Really Well[6]

"Everything in life is a trade-off. You give up one thing to get another and you can't have it all. Accept that." (Eldri, 60)

In our 20s we have a lot of dreams. We believe that we have all of the time in the world. I myself remember having illusions that my website would be my first career of many. Little did I know that it took the better part of a decade to even get competent at this. And now that I'm competent and have a major advantage and love what I do, why would I ever trade that in for another career?

"In a word: focus. You can simply get more done in life if you focus on one thing and do it really well. Focus more." (Ericson, 49)

Another reader: "I would tell myself to focus on one or two goals/aspirations/dreams and really work towards them. Don't get distracted." And another: "You have to accept that you cannot do everything. It takes a lot of sacrifice to achieve anything special in life."

A few readers noted that most people arbitrarily choose their careers in their late teens or early 20s, and as with many of our choices at those ages, they are often wrong choices. It takes years to figure out what we're good at and what we enjoy doing. But it's better to focus on our primary strengths and maximize them over the course of a lifetime than to half-ass something else.

"I'd tell my 30-year-old self to set aside what other people think and identify my natural strengths and what I'm passionate about, and then build a life around those." (Sara, 58)

For some people, this will mean taking big risks, even in their 30s and beyond. It may mean ditching a career they spent a decade building and giving up money they worked hard for and became accustomed to. Which brings us to…