The Hidden Costs of Achieving Success: Are You Prepared to Pay the Price?

As ambitious and high-achieving individuals, we all have dreams and goals that we strive to reach. The feeling of seeing those dreams come to fruition is truly rewarding, but often, we set out on our journey without fully calculating the cost of reaching our mountaintop.

In life, everything comes with a cost attached to it – and it's not just the financial cost that we should be considering. It's also the sacrifices that we will be called to make in order to achieve our goals. But too often, we don't take the time to evaluate the true cost of reaching our full potential.

To help you evaluate the cost of reaching your own mountaintop, here are three things to keep in mind:

1. The ability to endure

Are you prepared to keep working towards your goals even when you're seeing no results? The truth is that no self-made person has achieved greatness in their career and life without the ability to endure.

I am reminded of a former client, he is a professional soccer player but earlier in his career he just didn’t seem to get a break and was on the verge of giving up on his dream to be a top player – but he kept his spirit up and worked on his craft even when no team wanted him, and today he is one of the best and most sought after soccer players in South Africa and represents one of the top South African teams. It was his ability to endure those difficult times and persist that allowed him to be in the position that he is in today.

Are you willing to endure and persist? Think about the things that can go wrong along your journey and ask yourself, "Am I willing to endure the knocks, punches, and difficult moments in order to achieve my vision?" Remind yourself that it isn't going to be all sunshine.

2. Time

One of the most significant costs of success is the sacrifice of time. High-achievers often have demanding careers and are constantly striving to meet deadlines and achieve their goals. This can have far-reaching consequences, such as the inability to watch TV, cutting back on leisure activities, and most importantly, the time you get to spend with your family.

This reminds me of a client in his late 60’s who had achieved a tremendous amount of success in his life and career, but still regrets not having been more present with his children when they were younger and they needed him.

Evaluate how much time you're prepared to give towards working on your goals and dreams while also being mindful of the amount of time you'll be allocating towards your family. Remember that time is a finite resource.

3. Social life

If you're pursuing big goals, it's highly likely that your social life will also be impacted. You might not have the time to engage or invest in your social relationships, and it can be difficult to connect with people who don't share your ambition and drive. This is a hard one and I know many high achieving individuals who struggle with this. As a matter of fact, I had someone approach me after a talk that I did at a wellness retreat last week, who told me about his challenging social life. He told me that he had achieved many of his dreams and is in a fortunate position yet lacks deep social connections, and often finds himself missing the friends that he had grown up with because he could just be himself.

I reminded him that this is part of the cost of achieving his dreams, and that not leaving his hometown so that he could maintain the friendships, would have also come at a cost, the cost of his dreams. 

I encourage you to be mindful of how your goals may impact your social life and take steps to proactively buffer it through scheduling set times with friends and focusing on quality over quantity in your relationships.

In conclusion, as we strive towards success, it's important to be aware of the hidden costs that come along with it. By evaluating the true cost of reaching our goals, we can make more informed decisions and be better prepared for the sacrifices we will be called to make. Keep these three things in mind as you pursue your mountaintops with more clarity and purpose. One of my favorite quotes, a quote by Ray Dalio, sums this up, "in life you can have virtually anything, but you can't have everything".