Sacrifice and Success

Success can be summed up in two factors: work hard and be lucky. Other authors have done a far better job with this topic, most notably Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, but I'd like to consider a third dimension.

In business it's called opportunity cost, that by seizing one opportunity another is lost. Being of a spiritual bent I prefer to think of it as sacrificing the road not taken. Every hour I've spent practicing is an hour I wasn't watching tv, studying brain surgery, or directly earning a paycheck.

Some sacrifices are bigger than others. Having decided not to have children isn't much of a burden since I don't feel called to fatherhood. My divorce was huge because I not only sacrificed the heart of my ex-wife but a certain image I had of myself as a nice person.*

This is part of the reason I retain great respect for people who tried and decided against a career in the arts, who saw the price tag and turned away. Ultimately, there is no such thing as "too expensive", only "worth it" or not.

*I'm honoured if you disagree, but the nicest thing I can do is be forthright about my priorities.

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