Today I come to you from California where I have had five great days with my family, learning new things while also pushing the ball forward on LFTN and Holler Roast Coffee. I have made a ton of tradeoffs this week, including two episodes. We will talk about the what and why of tradeoffs and why they are important to your long term success and happiness.
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
Operation Independence
Main topic of the Show: Episode 351 - Tradeoffs are Good
You know that pang? That little feeling of guilt and remorse? That moment when you are doing one thing and not another, or many other?
That little pang is good. It is an indication that you are doing the right thing. That you have come to a point along your journey toward your true purpose where it is time to work through a series of tradeoffs.
It is not a sock in the gut -- oh shit I am doing the wrong thing sort if feeling. Merely a brief moment of remorse when you realize that you need to focus one place and the expanse of another to move things forward.
Not everyone has that feeling, but everyone who is successful does have one thing in common: the need to choose the most important place to focus for long term progress. And often this means letting the less important thing wait. Or letting it go completely.
Yes. tradeoffs are good. They mean you are growing. They mean that you are willing to do what it takes to succeed. And when you have the big picture in mind, they are not easy to figure out.
If you tap into our Mewe Group you will see folks at different places in their walk to freedom, often paralyzed with too many options, not sure where to go. They what if themselves to death when they could have been moving forward. And some what iffing is good -- I mean I have four or five ways to get home from California right now if my flight does not happen in the morning. Those ways came from a healthy amount of what iffing.
But when you spend all your time what iffing, you forget to spend your time actually doing.
And when you spend your time trying to be everything for everyone, to do everything for everyone, you lose yourself in the shuffle and build a lifestyle that is no different than being a slave wager, stuck in dept, working for someone else rather than building your life how you want it.
Tradeoffs are hard sometimes. And it can hurt when you realize that you really should not do what you used to do. But if you really embrace tradeoffs and relentlessly focus on trading off the things that get in the way of your progress, you will find that you end up in a much happier place.
Yes. Happier. Not necessarily richer. Happier.
Because really what we are building with our side hustles, with our enterprises, on our homestead or city steads -- what we are building is the life we want to live and that means happiness.
Someone in our network recently told me that he does what he does to finance all his interests -- all the fun stuff he gets to do because his business is successful. To which I though --RIGHT ON. This is a person who had built his business they way he wants it, built his lifestyle the way he wants it, and it allows him to do things he wants to do.
And that took tradeoffs. I see him up before me doing homestead chores. I see him working out much later than I do. I see him helping lots of people around him achieve what they want to achieve. I see him not giving up -- never giving up.
Nut you know he has tradeoffs, right? Sometimes he trades sleep. Sometimes he trades a night of partying. Sometimes he trades -- well heck -- sometimes he trades things we will never know about. Because he is doing it the right way and not bitching about his tradeoffs.
But tradeoffs are there -- they are always there.
Take this week. Here I am in California, two podcasts in the hole, putting together a guerrilla show for y'all because I traded off recording in order to recover and to have quality time with my family. That may not seem like the best business choice but it is. And here is what the tradeoffs look like:
And the end result? My niece had a great birthday with her family. I have learned to paint by numbers and make slime. I have had a chance to catch up with my sister on some important things. My energy is back. And there is a lifestyle clarity coming.
I love working hard. I love having plants and learning new things. I love getting sleep and exercise. I do not have time to do this if my income-generating projects take 12-14 hour days, seven days a week.
So there were tradeoffs this week. And some things need to be permanently traded off if I want a life I enjoy living. With time for new things, for being with family and friends.
It may sound like a cop out, but it isnt. It is a shift that has been coming all year as we grow. Growing means MORE. But more of the right things, not more of everything right? And to do it well, to make sure that you are able to have the kind of life you want financially, in your relationships, and at home -- tradeoffs are part of the growing game. This for that, not always this AND that.
Thought when asked if she wanted ice cream and whipped cream on her apple crumble, my niece did say both -- and she was not wrong.
But look around at how you are building your world? Farmers market taking a ton of time and not bringing in what you could if you had that time to really focus on doing what you need? But it means a temporary drop in revenue that you are not entirely sure you can replace. Ask yourself, what is the best choice for the long term? What transitional steps do I need to take. Because if you cannot do both and end up with a lifestyle you want, then why do it at all.
And no I do not mean just let things got -- I mean let the RIGHT things go. When you dont do the right things, you will often find you get a sock in the gut ,not a pang of regret. That pang is there to let you know you traded… make sure you trade up.
And. Embrace the pang!
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources