Way, way back in the olden days, when my grandmother was just a kid, she showed some aptitude for playing piano. My great grandparents didn’t have any money but they went wild and bought her a piano. To do this, the family had to give up things. It was a sacrifice.

My grandmother got into it. She practiced and practiced and got really good. In fact, as a kid, she made it to the state championships of piano playing kids. She loved tapping those keys and rocked the ivories until her last days. So cool!

It makes me think about sacrifice. What we choose to do without, in order to reach a higher goal. 

I don’t think anyone out there particularly likes making sacrifices. We want what we want. And then we want more. It’s part of the culture. It’s part of everything about the modern world. 

But here’s the thing. Without sacrifice there is no real value. Do you think the twenty-five year old with perfect genes appreciates their youthful and healthy body like some middle-ager who sweats and toils and eats broccoli for dinner ever night? No. F’ing. Way.

To really rock it in our creative endeavors and our lives in general, we need to sacrifice things. Time, energy, money, brainpower. You could binge another show. Or you could work on your novel. Where you point those choices is going to make a difference in what happens in your life.

A true sacrifice really is an offering to a greater outcome. Choose your sacrifices well. And they will become gifts to your future self.

What sacrifices do you make in your creative life or life in general? How does this serve you and the world around you?

Email me. Let’s share. We’re in this together, ya know;)