Sacrifice Begets Greatness

Everything that's truly beautiful or of real, intrinsic value is born out of sacrifice.

Consider the beautiful miracle of child birth, by which all of us are made manifest from small bits of DNA into people.

For this to be possible, you have a multitude of sacrifices that are made, both big and small, to enable that miracle.

Every month, a woman goes through the menstrual cycle, requiring additional attention and with its own personal impact.

Every time a child is conceived, there must be a period of strenuous gestation, while the child is carried inside.

Every time a child is born, there is a great deal of pain and effort required for the baby to enter this world.

Every time a child is raised, it takes tremendous attention, diligence, effort and love from the parents to do this right.

The same is true of great ideals, great projects, and great people who live truly prolific lives.

In order to attain timelessness in the creative arts, one dedicates their entire life to the service of that craft.

When examining the works of, for instance, Salvador Dali, it's clear how his tremendous abilities grew out of diligent work over the course of decades.

Every time a play is performed or a movie or TV show is shot, it is born from the labors of dozens of authors, cast and crew.

When you appreciate the beauty and immersion of a truly epic video game such as Red Dead Redemption 2, it's because hundreds of people dedicated (and sacrificed) years of their lives in tireless service to the goal of bringing you that experience.

Most people alive have dreams that extend beyond the lives they live today. You probably have such dreams, or did before.

The real question is: what are you willing to SACRIFICE to manifest those dreams into reality?

Will you be willing to give up working the job you hate, but that provides you with financial and emotional security?

Would you be willing to sacrifice every spare evening of every month of every year for a decade or more to achieve it?

This, more than anything else, is what separates the truly great, legendary, timeless heroes of the ages from the mediocre.

Imagine, for a moment, if you had the secret to achieving the discipline and daily mindfulness to truly live for your dreams.

If such a thing existed -- to give you the strength to be better, or even to become your best self... would you pursue this?

If you could have everything you every truly wanted in life -- your highest dreams and desires -- what would that be worth?

If there were a clear roadmap to get there, and you had a plan that was guaranteed to work... would you follow that plan?

And perhaps most important of all: what would you be willing to sacrifice to make that possible?