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Author: Ken Canion Posted: Monday - August 29, 2022

Success Has A Cost

The cost of success is much of what makes us appreciate success. It is also the reason that many people give up short of reaching success. Success stories mean something to us and inspire us because not everyone is willing to pay that cost. More importantly many people are not willing to pay all the cost.

There is an enormous difference to being all into an effort with the mindset that you are willing to see it all the way through no matter what and the person that just wants to see how hard the road is going to be before they really decide. The “wait and see” guy has already decided that he is going to quit. He had already decided that there is a cost too great. Chances are when the experience starts to get tough, that’s when he will decide it is quitting time.

People that aren’t committed and aren’t willing to pay the entire cost before they begin leave themselves escape hatches. They look back and make sure they know where the bridge is for when they need to back out. They are preparing to quit even as they pretend to begin. A person willing to pay the cost of success tends to cut the safety ropes so they can keep going. They let the escape hatches close and the bridges burn because going back is not an option. That person is prepared to pay the cost because failure is not an option. Success is their only escape hatch at that point.

We might still fall short. We might still fail with no place to land. Part of the cost for success is being willing to get back up after falling down and keeping going after initial failures. The journey to success will cost time and effort. It will cost sacrificing other paths and opportunities. It may mean giving up friends that turn out to be haters in disguise. It always means leaving our comfort zones and taking great personal and professional risks. It often means finding success and then being willing to keep going in order to hold on to it.

Success comes at a cost. You are best served by deciding you are all in before you begin, if you want to have a chance of paying that cost and finding real success.