The road less travelled

by Kudzai Kutukwa

“There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.” The preceding quote by Theodore Roosevelt reminds us that outstanding achievement in any endeavour is not easy. In other words, extraordinary success and relevance do not come without great sacrifice.

It has often been said that the richest piece of real estate is the graveyard. This is because buried within it are unfulfilled dreams. Songs that were never sung, businesses that were never started inventions that never saw the light of day, books that were never written, ideas that were never expressed; the list is endless. All these treasures are buried within the cemetery and they are lost forever.

The majority of people never see the fulfilment of their dreams because they are not willing to pay the price. They are not prepared to go the extra mile or to put in the extra effort required for making their dreams a reality. They would rather spend their lives walking on the path of mediocrity than on the road less travelled i.e. “sacrifice road” Hence they die with their dreams unfulfilled, dreams that could have enriched the world and made it a better place.

To many people, the word sacrifice carries with it negative connotations. It carries with it a sense of loss. My own definition of sacrifice is; giving up what is good today to grab hold of what is best tomorrow. It may be comfortable and enjoyable to watch twelve hours of television a day, but is that going to help you create the “tomorrow” you want? It may be uncomfortable and unpleasant to start you own business today but will the future pay off and rewards not be worth it? Often what is comfortable will deter us from trying out new things that are in harmony with our desired future.

In his book, “As a man thinketh,” James Allen makes a profound statement. He states that, “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain greatly must sacrifice greatly.” In other words the size of your dreams or goals, determines the amount of sacrifice needed. The problem is that most of us worship comfort, thus we avoid anything that requires getting out of our comfort zone.

Thomas Edison, before he successfully invented the light bulb, failed at least ten thousand times. He was able to persevere in the face of failure because he was focused on his goal. He put in the extra effort required to achieve his goal. The price he paid was nothing compared to the success he achieved. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. Michael Jordan was always the first one on the court, and the last one off the court during practise sessions. He went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history. His success came not just because he was talented, but because he was willing to pay the price to be the best. The extra hours of practise reaped huge dividends. The same can be true for you.

If you want something you have never had, you got to do something you have never done. You have to rid yourself of the habit of following the crowd, because he who follows the crowd will go no further than the crowd. You will have to be clear about what you want for your life and settle for just that. The road to achieving your dreams may not be easy or comfortable. It may be lonely and turbulent. You may have to fight fierce battles and face violent storms, but just keep holding on. Whatever price you have to pay to make your dreams your reality, no matter how hard it is, do it. Don’t sacrifice your dreams for your comfort but sacrifice your comfort for your dreams. It is up to you to decide from this point on the kind of life you want to live. Remember no one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him. It is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction.