Chapter 52: The Hidden Cost Of Getting What You Want

Most people have big goals.

But few people slow down long enough to ask the only question that matters:

“What does it actually cost to get the things I want?”

It’s easy to get excited about goals.

To talk about them with friends, write about them in your notes app, and convince yourself you’re destined to achieve them.

It’s cheap and it feels good.

But until you’re honest about the price of them, nothing is going to happen.

Because most goals are simple, but rarely easy.

And in the end, it all comes down to one thing:

Are you willing to pay the price for the thing you say you want?

An Example

Let’s look at a real example:

Being an NBA player making fifty million a year.

Crowds, fame, and getting paid to play the game you love.

Most people see that and chalk it up to talent, luck, or good genetics.

While those all play a part; that’s not the whole story.

The real story starts with a nine-year-old in the driveway shooting until their arms are dead.

A high schooler waking up at 5 AM to lift before class, long road trips to play games against the best players in the country, and running sprints on Saturdays while his friends slept in.

A college student practicing on his birthday, watching film late into the night, and skipping parties because there was a game the next morning.

By the time he makes the league, the contract isn’t some magical reward.

It’s the receipt for the price he paid long before anything was guaranteed.

It’s easy to forget that part.

We only see the highlights and the final result.

Not the hours, the doubt, or the “normal life” traded away to get there.

And that’s how it works with anything worth doing.

A Personal Story

Every big shift in my life came with a cost I didn’t fully understand at the start.

Training for an Ironman meant nine months of 5:40 AM alarms, stumbling out of bed sore each and every morning, and days where I wondered if the sacrifice was even worth it.

Building on the internet hasn’t been any different.

Hours staring at a blank page, fumbling through bad drafts, and having to get comfortable with fear, failure, and public embarrassment.

Yet this is the reality of pursuing anything meaningful. There is always a price, and you don’t get to skip it.

You only get to decide whether you’re willing to pay it.

Wrapping Up

Thoreau put it best:

As we head into the holiday season, you might start thinking about the things you want to do or become in the new year. That’s good.

Knowing what you want is important, but it’s only half of the equation.

The real shift comes from being honest about what it’s going to cost you. The time, the sacrifices, and the parts of yourself you’ll have to stretch or let go of.

So before you set any intentions for this upcoming year, take a moment and get clear on: Where you actually want to go, what the real price of that path is, and if you’re willing to pay it?

Because the answer to those questions will determine whether or not you turn your goals into reality.

I hope this helps.

—Dodds

P.S. the next cohort of Story30 starts in January. If you want to work with me 1:1 to grow your audience/business using short-form video, you can get on the waitlist here.