The short answer is: “No.” Now let’s move on to the long answer.

When I was in my twenties, fresh out of the Marines and finishing up my degree, I thought I could have it all. People in their twenties are likely to think that because they haven’t tried it yet.

Now that I’m in my sixties, I participate in what Tom Peters calls “old guy” conversations. Almost always, someone will grumble about the younger people who think they can have it all, mistaking the certainty of youth for a generational characteristic.

The reason that you can’t have it all is that life involves tradeoffs. Sure you can use some of your money to buy time. But you can’t be in Pocatello for a business meeting and Providence for a dance recital at the same time. You can use technology to see and hear what happens, but you can’t get or give a hug over a high speed connection.

So the first part of the long answer is this: You may be able to have it all but you almost certainly will not get to have it all, all at once.

Here’s something else to remember. That other generation, older or younger, is just as smart as you and just as committed to doing the right thing.

The problem is that we see “the right thing” differently based on where we’ve come from. If you want a long explanation of that, read Strauss and Howe’s excellent book, Generations.

The quality and texture of your life will depend on thousands of choices you make. They will be choices about how you will spend your time today and how you will spend your money and who you will huddle with when the winds of adversity blow.

You may not be able to have it all, but you can definitely have a lot of it, if you make some wise choices and if you get just a little lucky. Remember that those choices won’t be big, important-looking choices. They’ll be mostly small ones, the ones you make every day.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Tools and Strategies for Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.