What You Must Give Up to Succeed

In business, there is a short list of things you must do to succeed. One of those things is giving up some of the stuff that is holding you back. While business owners and managers constantly worry about what might be holding them back, some don’t ask the right questions, so they miss the forest for the trees. Even though they spend a lot of time on it, they never quite discover what really needs to go.

Now, you might be expecting some listicle of insight from various business pros, but, really, the answer to this question is much simpler than all that. To achieve more success than you currently enjoy, you must give up what you currently enjoy. You must be willing to sacrifice what is easy and comfortable now to get someplace else.

That doesn’t mean you just put it all on red and spin the wheel or roll the dice. This is not about gambling. It’s about not letting what you have keep you from getting where you want to be. Every business goes through this. You work your fingers to the bone and scrimp and save and suffer — then, suddenly, you find success. After a while, you begin to plateau. Not to coast, necessarily, but to find a happy and easy rhythm. You begin to find contentment in where you are. And, maybe, for the time being, that’s great.
But is that where you want to be? Is that place where you planned to go when you first set out on this business journey? An honest answer to that question will likely tell you exactly what you must give up to get where you really want to be.

Mind you, I’m not trying to imply that there is anything wrong with moderate success. Nor is there anything wrong with enjoying what you have achieved to this point in your career. In fact, there are likely many things to enjoy about where you are and many reasons to be proud of what you have accomplished.

But that doesn’t change the key question: “Is where you are where you really want to be?”

If not, then you must be willing to, once again, become uncomfortable. To pull up a bit of what you have built and sacrifice it for a chance to grow. In some ways, it’s like knocking down a wall to build an extension to your home. It will be a frustrating, dirty, and uncomfortable process, but the result will be so much better than what you have, you will quickly forget what you had to give up to get it.

What about you? Is there anything in this article that is still holding you back? What do you think is keeping you from achieving success?

Jonah Engler is a financial expert from New York City.