With few exceptions, I would posit that we all want to be successful. It’s not often that someone proclaims, “I would love to be a failure!”
Of course, the question is how does one measure success? It’s true that we need to know what race we’re running, but we also have to understand the cold, hard truth that we can’t have it all. No matter how far you lean in, it’s simply impossible.
Everything comes at the cost of something else in one way or another. Choosing to work late may be good for your career, but constantly missing dinner is bad for your family. Saving extra money for retirement or a down payment is smart, but it means you’ll have to forego that island vacation this summer.
There’s only so much time, money, and energy to go around.
This is why we have to prioritize what matters most to us, so that we know the trade-offs we’re willing to make (and those that we aren’t).
Time and money are inversely proportional. The more you have of one, you most likely have almost none of the other — and most people probably wish for the opposite.
No one is immune.
Professional athletes are the envy of many — they have millions of dollars, fame, adulation, and scores of other perks — but there are downsides. Virtually any player, even a champion and gold medalist, can be traded to a different city with no warning. That’s what happened to Jrue Holiday, who was traded one day after proclaiming that he wanted to retire with his then-team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Very few people will have sympathy for a man that makes millions to play a sport, but the fact is that a trade like that is difficult on the player’s family, as Holiday’s wife eloquently acknowledged, forcing them to uproot and the children to acclimate to a new school in a completely different state (or stay behind while Dad’s new “home” team is now thousands of miles away).
These are the trade-offs that go with the territory.
Leonardo DiCaprio slept in animal carcasses and ate pars of a bison in order to win his long-overdue Academy Award. Michael Jordan sacrificed everything to be the best in the world. Tom Brady lost his marriage for one more shot at a Super Bowl.
Was it worth it? I bet DiCaprio would say it was. As for Jordan and Brady, we may never know.
Our definition of success dictates what we’re willing (or not willing) to give up to make it happen.
What are you willing to trade?
Christopher Pierznik is the worst-selling author of nine books. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Connect on Facebook or get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 