Making Trades

It's 11:53 pm the night before this gets published. I spent most of my free time this week making a video and didn't do any meaningful writing.

I made a trade. Writing time for video time.

Could I have carved out time for both of them? Sure. It just required another trade.

I could have spent less time with family and friends, slacked off at work a bit, or cut back on what I ultimately decided on trading: sleep.

I'm not a fan of killing yourself for the grind or the hustle or whatever the fuck they're calling it these days but it's important to note that sometimes we'll need to inconvenience ourselves for the things we care about.

Is it annoying to pick your friend up at 2 am when their car breaks down 20 miles outside of town and they need a ride? Sure. But you're happy to do it, not because they'd do the same for you, but because you care about them and that care outweighs the inconvenience.

Partnerships, friendship, work, your passions projects — none of these exist in a vacuum. They will all require making trades at some point. The trick is not to keep score or look for balance but to be incredibly clear on what is worth making a trade for.