What sacrifices do you need to take in order to achieve your goal?

It’s easy to think and dream about what we could do but incredibly difficult to accept the pains and trade-offs that come with it.

Let me know if you agree to these:

• Everyone wants to have an amazing job and financial independence but not everyone wants to sacrifice their late nights and weekends, do unpleasant paperwork, practice networking, or take lots of risks even though it’s not guaranteed to be successful.
• Everyone wants to have a great relationship but not everyone wants to go through tough conversations and discuss about feelings and emotions.
• Everyone wants to have a strong and healthy body but not everyone appreciates the pain of working out and eating strictly.

If you want something, you have to understand the cost that comes with it. Apparently, everything has a price, no matter how big or small it is. The bigger/exceptional the thing is, the more expensive price you have to pay. Take these examples from real-life successful people:

• Michael Jordan took takes hundreds of jump shots a day even in his off seasons to stay on top.
• Howard Schultz worked more than 13+ hours a day consistently to build Starbucks.
• Mark Cuban didn’t take a vacation for seven years while starting his first business.
• Tim Cooked started his day at 4:30 to build Apple.
• Li Ka-Shing outsold his colleague to become the best salesman in the factory and general manager by 19.
• Marissa Mayer used to put in 130-hour weeks at Google.

These people understood their costs well, chose to accept the immediate pain, and focused on the big picture. As a result, they all had what they wanted. Now, to better understand your cost, it’s always a good idea to write it down and have a simple way to keep track of it. I’ve written about system planning and goal setting here if you’re interested in checking it out →

Originally published at https://hoanhan.co on October 20, 2020.