Trades

Whether explicit or implicit, we all trade time for money.  That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a reality.  The bad thing — yes I’m taking a risk and passing judgement here — is when we make these trades unconsciously.

It’s reality that we are faced with constraints on an ongoing basis.  Those constraints often limit what we perceive we  can and can not do:

• Take the vacation we would like
• Attend more of the kid’s functions
• Help our friends and family out financially
• Spend more time with our spouse
• Retire from our job
• Spend more time exercising
• And the list goes on, and on, and on….

But are these constraints real?  Is it really the case that we CAN’T do the items on the above list?  Or is it the case that we’re not willing to make a conscious decision to trade off time or money so that we CAN do the items on the above list?  Is it that we can not complete the items on our list, or is it that we are not willing to experience the pain or discomfort associated with making tough decisions?  Read the list again.  Ask yourself:  “Would I be happier if I made a different trade off of time and money?”.  Only you can be the judge of whether you answer this question correctly.

With that in mind:

Are you making the right trades?

As always, thanks for the time.