What is the one consuming desire of your life? What is that one thing you are determined to have? Are you willing to stake your entire future to get it? And are you willing to put everything else second while you pursue that idea?

Your answer to the last question could determine the level of success you experience. Here’s why.

Every successful person who has ever lived made it by making tremendous sacrifices. Here is my thesis. If you want to experience more in your life— genuine happiness, meaningful relationships, financial security, and comfort—you must be willing to give up something.

What a person decides to give up, however, will be based on that individual’s risk tolerance and discomfort threshold. The bottom line is, if you are playing to win, and win big, then something or someone will have to come in second—at least for a period of time. The reality is, every success decision has an opportunity cost. There’s always a tradeoff.

That tradeoff could mean you might not be able to make it to your children’s sporting events. Dinner dates with your spouse or partner—well—you might have to plan those dates around your success initiatives.

I generally do not accept phone calls, respond to text messages, or hold meetings in the morning because that is the time I use to organize my thoughts, exercise, plan my day, and conduct research.

Are there opportunities I could be passing up by not taking calls, etc., ante meridiem? Yes, I would say so. But that is the tradeoff I have made, and I must be willing to live with the outcomes.

What about balance? Well, I am glad you asked.

If by balance, you mean equal, then there is no such thing as living a balanced life. It’s a fantastical idea at best; therefore, you would be wise to perish that thought. Life is dynamic, and so is the pursuit of success. This means that some goals or opportunities will have to take a back seat, while you engage that ONE dominating obsession of your life.

The bottom line is, success has a price. Everyone makes a tradeoff. If you have a burning desire to achieve a goal, then you must make peace with the decision to give up something in order to realize that goal.

This post was originally published by the author, here. Permission was secured by Shadow the PR Cat for republishing here. The article was edited and formatted for Alexis Chateau PR.

About the Author

Josiah Samuel Harry was born and raised in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California. Of the many hats he wears, the most fitting are literary artist, podcaster, content creator, and adventurer. His research interests are in humanistic philosophy, positive psychology and counterculture. Catch up with him on Twitter as @realjosiahharry.