Paying the Price

Procrastination Edit: Calm down man. Lol 

“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals, if you want to be great at something. We all can be masters at our craft. But you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is that there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Hanging out with your friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision. I knew that I was not going to be stopped. Because at the age of 18, this was my life. Right? Because you can’t possibly become better than me because you’re not spending the time on it that I do. Even if you want to spend the time on it, you can’t. Because you have other things. Other responsibilities that are taking you away from it. So I already won.” – Kobe Bryant

“Everything has its price– And if that price is not paid, not that thing, but something else is obtained….. it is not possible to get anything without that price.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature cannot be tricked or cheated. She will give up to you the object of your struggles only after you have paid her price.” –Napoleon Hill

Everybody has something they want in life. That young african american kid playing pick-up on the streets wants to drain that buzzer beating jumper in the NBA. That kid who’s never felt the lips of another girl, deeply wants to feel that intimacy you feel when you’re in love. That young, upstart writer eating only beans and rice for dinner, but determined to publish his novel.

There are a lot of things I want in life. But here’s the catch: what price am I willing to pay? Am I even willing to pay the price? Because in this world, there’s never something for nothing. There’s an opportunity cost to everything. Maybe, I can’t be that amazing friend. Maybe, I have to put off getting into a relationship till I’m older. Maybe, I can’t be a great family man.

Hernan Cortes came to the America’s looking for great treasure. A couple of men, thought he was nuts, and strategically planned an escape back to Spain. Upon discovering this, Cortes burned all his ships. His entire crew of 600 people were either going to find the treasure, or die trying. He had no other options.

Using the ship example, am I willing to burn all bridges to get what I want? Am I willing to die for what I want? Am I willing to put everything on the line for what I want? From a rational perspective, the answer is always no. The probably of achieving something great is always low.

But we humans don’t always make rational decisions. And like Elon Musk says “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

When I’m not willing to put it all on the line, do I really want it badly enough? Is this something I really want? Or is it something I just like the idea of? Because when I’m not willing to pay the price, I need to look at myself and question, is this something that I actually want?