The most profound lesson I ever learned

By Jerry Kranitz (March 10, 2026)

In an earlier blog article, I summarized my opinions about what everyone should expect from a college education. Today I’m going to share the single most profound LIFE lesson I learned during my undergraduate years at the University of Wyoming.

X + Y + Curve = Enlightenment

It was the first semester of my first year. The class was Economics 101. The instructor approached the blackboard and drew an X axis, a Y axis, and what she called a Production Possibilities Curve (PPC).

She indicated the X axis as 100 Tractors and the Y axis as 100 Cars (they could be Gummy Bears and Snicker Bars, it doesn’t matter). This hack job of an image I drew is the PPC in a nutshell.

An article at the Georgia Public Broadcasting website provides a tidy economic definition of the PPC:

“A production possibilities curve or frontier (PPC or PPF) is a model used in economics to analyze tradeoffs and opportunity costs. The model assumes that one producer or country, using all their productive resources, can produce two goods or two categories of goods – for example, regular soda or diet soda, military goods or consumer goods.”

The instructor then explained that if I have 100 tractors and want some cars, I cannot simply acquire them in addition to my 100 tractors. If I want cars I am required to give up some of my tractors. She then demonstrated, moving down the curve from tractors toward cars, that if I want, for example, 25 cars, I need to give up, we’ll say in this case, 25 of my tractors, leaving me with 75 tractors and 25 cars.

Stick with me. I’m about to explain the profound life lesson…

A Valdosta State University slide deck on the topic explains why ‘Tradeoffs’ are tightly linked to this concept:

“Due to scarcity, we can only produce more of one product if we give up some of the other product.”

There’s always a Tradeoff

I’ll confess that I did not experience an eye-popping epiphany during that first day of Economics class. Enlightenment came over time. But I’ve always been keenly aware of the link back to that class and the Production Possibilities Curve lesson.

Here’s what eventually dawned on me – Everything we do in life, every decision we make, involves some form of tradeoff. It’s not as simple as forking over our hard-earned cash to make a purchase. There’s far more to it than mere money.

Why so profound?

Here are some examples…

I’ll start simple: My wife and I live in Columbus, Ohio. But I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. I still have friends there I’ve been close to for over 50 years. A few times a year I go to Buffalo for several days to hang out with my friends. My wife and I budget our annual travel. So, this not only cuts into our budget for travel together, but I’m also leaving her home alone for a week. It’s ok. She gets it and supports me. But these are ‘considerations’ I must account for when deciding to go off with the boys.

Let’s up the ante a little: My wife retired in 2018 and a few years ago I started wishing I could join her when I reached age 65 in 2024. Could we afford it? Did I really want to give up a decent paycheck at a job I enjoyed. I thought hard about the ‘tradeoffs’.

It can be about cash and purchases too, though I’ve still got decisions to make.

As of November 2024, I’m retired but still ‘work’. I do a lot of writing. I get up each morning at the same time, start the coffee, turn on the computer, and proceed with whatever research and/or writing project I’m working on.

So, now you know the most profound life lesson I learned in college. Want to know the most practical life lesson I learned in college? Read my earlier blog article about the value of developing an Outline as a means of ensuring your content is comprehensive and coherent. It’s yet another of my… ahem… strong opinions.