(ARTICLE) 16 Sacrifices You Need To Make To Become Rich

DISCLAIMER: This is not an article about how to be happy in life, it’s an article on what it takes to get rich.

I recommend reading this article again at least once every month so that you don’t lose track of what it takes.

Success or riches, always come at a cost and the truth is, in order to become successful or rich, there are sacrifices you have to make.

Better you know them and plan accordingly if you really want to embark on becoming rich or successful in whatever you’re doing though riches and success are not for everyone, you are absolutely free to live a mediocre life in peace.

Hopefully at the end of this article, you will look at someone rich and understand the sacrifices they made to become who they are now.

In order to become you rich, you don’t need to make all these sacrifices though there isn’t a single individual who made it in life without making at least some of these sacrifices.

1. Family

Family is the last thing people want to hear that they have to sacrifice but it is first on the list now.

Truth is, successful individuals rarely got married early in their lives, and they postponed that, almost never in their 20s.

Having a kid early on is likely to be a pretty much financial suicide that gets you trapped in the rat race.

That is why many successful individuals postpone starting a family for a later date when they have accumulated some success, simply a sustainable way to support the family.

This is probably one of the most important sacrifices one makes in order to be rich because the road to success demands so much focus to be put into it that it is almost impossible to achieve the same level of greatness if you’re being side trapped by personal feelings.

In order to acquire wealth, the process needs your undivided attention and the moment one has a child or marries, that family becomes the focus point and everything else falls behind as it should be.

Still on family, another aspect that gets sacrificed is the relationship with your family, parents and siblings require time and effort and sometimes financial resources as well that you are most likely unable to spare in the beginning of your journey if you’re serious about getting rich.

Be selfish before you are selfless

It really sucks to say that you’re not going to be there for your siblings, and you’re not going to focus on building yourself a family at this stage of your life and you’re going to postpone having a child, but, this is one of the harshest realities of which rich and successful individuals sacrifice in order to get there.

2. Health

“But health is wealth”

Well, health is one of the most important ingredients to a successful life but this article is focusing on the realities of getting rich.

The paradox is some people sacrifice their health in order to get money and later sacrifice money in order to regain their health.

Regardless, the road to riches will take a toll on your health and the most common feeling is that of tiredness because most individuals have difficulties falling asleep, the goal keeps you up at night, there are worries to consider and everything depends on your ability to manage them.

Entrepreneurs live / people who are thriving in their careers tend to live with tremendous amount of stress in their lives, they usually neglect their health in the pursuit of success.

3. Friends (or an active social life)

There is very little room for a social life if you really want to be rich.

One of the things you have to sacrifice if you really want to attain success, is the people around you who are not pushing you further.

Yes, cutting down on the toxic individuals is a must, then followed by those who are not actively making you better.

It is truly dramatically common for successful people to dramatically trim their inner circle on the focus of the quality of the individuals.

It’s said that the average future millionaire has 2-3 close friends and they themselves also focus on getting rich, that way, they can push each other along the way because you need people who can relate to your struggles, people who can understand why you’re putting that level of effort.

Nobody will understand you except for individuals who they themselves are doing the same thing.

4. Hobbies

In order to maintain a hobby demands time, attention and most of the times financial resources as well.

If you want to be rich and you’re not where you want to be in life, you may not be able to afford to have a hobby.

I am not discouraging to not partake in any hobbies as I believe it’s a good way to relax on your days off but do them after you have taken care of the important tasks.

Why have a hobby when you can’t even take care of yourself?

Hobbies should be one of the last things on your mind.

5. Time

The road from zero to financial success will take an average of 7 to 10 years depending on the industry, your emotional intelligence, your intellect, your ability to play the market and the volume of work you’re ready to put up in order to make it happen.

Truth is, the days you’re going to spend on a computer or negotiating with clients are not going to be the best days of your life but it’s a sacrifice that you need to make if you’re serious about getting rich because it’s that time that yields the results you are looking for.

7 years might sound like a lot of time but it doesn’t mean those years will lack any positive memories and experiences.

Time will pass either way, whether you use or invest it productively or not, time will still pass.

6. Happiness

Happiness is a big one anyway because in order to get money you will have to sacrifice a certain degree of happiness.

Even if you love what you do, no one is happy to work 14–16 hours a day every single day in order to get there.

That’s not how evolution made us, there needs to be a balance to the amount of happiness you’re willing to sacrifice in exchange for material gains and not always asking for favours.

As well, if you sacrifice too much, you may not be able to catch up with your reality and sacrificing certain happiness now will mean you will have other happinesses in the future like spending your time with your child(ren) as you don’t have to worry about paying the bills. That’s a trade you should be willing to make.

7. Sleep

Though you need sleep, it’s also good for your health but get quality sleep and it will possibly be enough, and sleeping less is an amazing advantage if you make quality use of the time while you’re awake.

There is no point in sleeping 5 hours a night if you’re only going to be working 8 hours a day.

8. Who you are

Evaluate who you really are….

what are the things that set you back?

What are the things that are just illusions to you?

Is that identity you attach on yourself of being a degree holder steering you to your goal?

If you want to be successful, if you want to be rich, you need to sacrifice who you are in order to become who you want to be.

It’s smart to think of yourself in terms of work and progress, similar to a software or a digital product, this is your current version, but don’t be afraid to make updates and re-iterate what makes you - You.

Success of any form comes from repetitive consistent actions which add up over time and that takes discipline.

The biggest difference between a poor person and rich person is consistency and their discipline, not the size of their bank accounts.

9. Entertainment

If you are just starting out and most of us are, immediately cut the level of entertainment in your life.

I’m not saying you should spend the entire 24 hours of a day just grinding, but don’t over consume entertainment when you know you have important tasks you need to get out of the way.

After sleep, this is the second thing people that want to become rich should sacrifice.

I personally only chill on my PS5, watch movies, flirt with girls, AFTER I’ve completed my important tasks.

10. Stability

Getting rich is a journey of ups and downs where you will most likely experience more downs than ups.

Stability gets sacrificed because of a lot of uncertainties in the process, you don’t know what tomorrow holds and you don’t have the luxury of being at ease.

You need to move yourself, to position yourself, to meet new people, to negotiate your own reality and provide for yourself as nobody is going to get it for you.

If you believe your environment is keeping you from being successful, sacrifice it, move somewhere else, you’re in control of this life.

Don’t be afraid to move far away from friends and family for a new start on a new opportunity which could take your life to a whole new level.

11. Income

You might not like to hear this but until you make it big, you need to sacrifice your share of the income.

You put it right back in the business or the project until you make it, there is no other way.

Or you hold off on the holidays, shopping trips and fancy items so can you use your income from work and aggressively invest it into assets so you will no longer ‘HAVE TO’ ever work in 3-5 years time.

You will only work because you want to or whenever you want to.

In the beginning every Penny you get needs to be carefully planned and put where it is going to have the most impact and reward and usually yourself, you are pretty far down the list, unless you’re going to use the money to build and develop a certain set of skills which make you more valuable to the marketplace.

12. Comfort

The luxury lifestyle, the big house, the luxury cars, the private jet, travelling all around the world in first class, that’s the end result of years of living way below your means.

Unless you are born rich, you have to struggle to get there, sacrifices need to be made and the easiest way is to sacrifice comfort and use the cash to fuel your growth.

You don’t need to live in a big house or a big apartment in your 20s, cut down on rent and use the remaining cash and invest it into assets that generate you more money.

(Crypto staking, a business, real estate, index funds)

13. The need to be liked

Statistically, disagreeable people are more likely to become successful than agreeable people. This is a fact, not an opinion.

This doesn’t mean you should become an asshole, but it just means you just need to focus on yourself first and sacrifice the need to be liked by others.

Let them like you for who you are and what you are doing but don’t sacrifice yourself to be liked anyway.

Getting rich is getting the job done not by being the most popular person in the room.

14. Pride

You do what you have to, to make things happen.

If you are too proud to work at a fast food restaurant to feed yourself in order to work on your project at night, you are never going to make it.

Pride is counterproductive.

You don’t need to think of what other people will think of you.

You do You, focus on your objectives and your goals and making your dream become a reality not what others are expecting of you. Fuck them.

Put your head down, give up on your pride and sacrifice it for the welfare of your future and your future family.

15. Immediate desires

As humans, we are always seeking immediate gratification even from the slightest efforts, don’t.

That is the difference between those who are going to make it and those who are portraying the image that they made it.

As soon as you get the first glimpse of success, it’s easy to fall in the trap of congratulating yourself for the lap instead of focusing on the race.

16. The sacrifices are short term but rewards are long term

After looking at this list, you might ask who in life would sacrifice giving his family time and effort for the money.

To make it clear, you can have everything, the social life, the luxury lifestyle, you just have to postpone them for a couple of years.

You either have to classify other people’s realities as hard work or luck or fortune but the reality of what it takes is work hard when they won’t so that you can enjoy what they can’t.

Most of the sacrifices talked about here are probably one of the things you didn’t know or didn’t want to hear but they are the rules of the game of money and success, you might have probably been thinking there is a quick fix of how to get rich quick schemes, No please.

The truth is, people who do make it to that level of meaningful success, are driven people, disciplined and focused and sacrificed a lot for their career or journey.

The expense for the success you are seeking is a great one, so think twice if you really want it and know what you have to do to achieve it.

Live the life you want to live - not the life you think you should.

Till next time.