Success is Sacrifice

 It was the 9th of March 2010 and I was working late, as usual, for an employer that always found an excuse not to give me a bonus each year. However, I was going to prove them wrong this year. I was already 150% of my yearly target, had just celebrated my 30th birthday and believed this year was going to be different for me. Just as those thoughts were running through my mind, my boss popped his head through the door and asked to have a word. That word led to me losing my job. I had worked for this company for six years without a  blemish on my record and it was over, just like that. I had bills to pay, was already behind on my rent and owed people money. How could things get any worse? My friends and those close to me were very supportive but all they could offer at this time were words of encouragement. “don’t worry, things will get better, I can’t believe that happened, you should sue them”. Although I agreed with the last point, I didn’t have the strength to see the process through.

     So I was 30 years old, jobless, had just been issued an eviction letter from my landlady so borderline homeless, not a penny in savings and owed money. The term “dead broke” really became explicit in my life at that moment. 12 years ago I returned to London to get an education and make something of myself so I could offer some support to my family back home. I had failed at both those objectives. The London life was too distracting so I never got round to doing the Uni thing and everything I had done so far to achieve some financial stability in my life had brought me to this point. All I ever wanted was to be successful, so why had things turned out so bad for me? What did I do wrong and why me?

     Then it occurred to me. My current situation was a reflection of the seeds I had planted in my life over the last 12 years.  I had to change my thinking and change my choices. I realised that success isn’t achieved by everyone. And that is not because we are incapable of achieving it, but because we have refused to acknowledge the sacrifices required to achieve it. I thought of how different my life would have been had I made certain sacrifices, different choices, better choices! It was at that point, I decided to go to University. Having dropped out of college during my A-levels it wasn’t going to be easy. It would involve a lot of institutions saying no, people questioning my choices and cutting out social habits I had grown accustomed to. Who would hire a full-time student anyway and how would I afford to live? All these excuses running through my head only confirmed my decision further, because I was now aware that they were sacrifices necessary to attain something I had always wanted.

     Five years later and upon reflection I see how much has changed in my life. This college drop out graduated with honours and went on to complete his Masters. I am a Director of my own company taking solid steps towards that future I pictured for myself when I stepped off the plane at Heathrow airport in 1998. Amongst all of this, when I look forward at where I want to be in five years time, the sacrifices are very clear to me. One key principle in Economics is about improving one’s welfare by making the right choices. This is implicit within the science and becomes explicit once we apply it to everything we do in our lives. If you want to be successful, you have to be willing to sacrifice what others can’t be bothered to. When you finally commit to having a life that is different from most others, your life will be most different from others.

The True Economist