Outside of just pure luck, there are a few fundamental things that have to be true (to a certain extent) for you to be “Successful” <INSERT ARTICLE ON AGREEING WHAT SUCCESFUL MEANS FOR OUR CONTEXT>. One of those things is willingness to sacrifice <INSERT ARTICLE ON SACRIFICE>. This is the cliche “work hard today for a better future tomorrow”. But I believe this discussion is rolling in a basic assumption that can not necessarily be made.
To be willing to sacrifice today for tomorrow, you have to believe that you are missing something from today that could make you ultimately satisfied. If you were able to be 100% happy or satisfied today, there is absolutely no logical reasoning to sacrifice today as you could just do what is making you 100% today.
Want to know what it is for me? I do not believe you need to have $X money or accomplish Y thing to be happy <INSERT ARTICLE ON WHETHER HAPPINESS IS THE ACTUAL GOAL>. This is generally supported by studies as well. But what is also true is that while money can’t make you happy, not having enough money can make you unhappy. Not having enough money also restricts your freedom of doing things that could make you happy. So I am willing to sacrifice certain things (within reason) <INSERT ARTICLE ON DID I REALLY SACRIFICE> from today, to help prevent external forces from robbing me of my happiness tomorrow. If I did not believe that I could be robbed of my happiness or that there was something “better” I could achieve, then I would never have a reason to sacrifice during the natural roadblocks that all entrepreneurs face along the way.
That was the most charitable interpretation of my why, but it is also probably the most fundamental one. It play to the value of freedom, which is very important to me. <INSERT ARTICLE ON POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FREEDOM>. The less charitable reasons are things like ego, society instilled delusions of what happens when you’re rich or what money can buy, impressing others, and desire for expensive toys. It is for these whys that many people are not willing to do what it takes when a roadblock arrives. These whys are based on external validation and are seldom enough motivation to keep the fire burning.
So is your why strong enough?