Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson declares “make a life for yourself in three years that will justify the suffering.” Let’s explore this.
Are you sitting there in mild uncomfortableness, where you don’t like where you are overall but are unwilling to make changes? It’s like the dog lying on the porch with a nail sticking up from the floorboards that’s bothering her and she’s whining, but doesn’t get up and move because it doesn’t bother her enough to do something about it. Get up and do something about your situation, because the whining about it but unwillingness to change is really annoying to others.
As The Dread Pirate Roberts tells Buttercup in The Princess Bride “Life is pain Highness. Anyone that says differently is selling something.” This is actually a man testing the love of his life that he risked death for (and actually overcomes being mostly dead for), who suffered on a pirate ship with the constant threat of death for three years for, who fought a giant and survived torture for. Roberts (aka Wesley the farm boy) justified his suffering for love, true love and it transformed him. Are you ready to let pain transform you into someone greater?
Many of my friends have built tech companies and there is a constant in the successful ones: sacrifice for a dream. They take under-market compensation (or no payment at all to start and often skip paychecks in tough times), slave away for long hours (70 hours a week is generally the minimum to start) on complex problems that are ever evolving, rarely have a social life (no time and too tired), and have to juggle a dozen different responsibilities so are forced to grow in numerous ways simultaneously. And they love the stress and pain needed to create something worthwhile, something they are proud of that employs dozens or hundreds of other people and positively impact millions. That was justified suffering, because they believed in the future more than the pain of the present and turned themselves from talented coders to great leaders. Are you ready to make the sacrifice of your time and surface relationships and your worst aspects to convert your potential to actual greatness, or are you going to just suffer to make someone else reach their dreams while yours wither? That is needless suffering.
Are you ready to suffer to generate new business and get paid, or are you going to whine about having no money but be unwilling to do the work to correct this? Just like the dog on the porch, it hurts but not enough for you to get up and do something about it. Quit whining, get off the porch and hunt!
Are you going to cold call hundreds of people a week to eke out a few sales, and be stuck doing that week after week and year after year, with no change as you get beaten down and mentally exhausted from the constant hang ups and abuse? Or are you willing to suffer the emotional risk and short-term time sacrifice to learn to ask for Introductions, so that you can ween yourself off of cold calling and build an Introduction Based Business and have the life in three years that the effort justifies?
Athletes understand the sacrifices of time and fun and even acquaintances to invest their time to develop themselves. The pain from training, the recovery from injuries, the crushing emotions of losing, the early mornings and late nights and limited social life to become elite. To do things that others more naturally talented won’t experience because they are unwilling to chose the pain of betterment and as such never make a better self and life for themselves. Athletes understand suffering as the price for excellence, and a championship justifies those early mornings and late nights and aches and pains.
Sports, business, and love all require a price to be paid for success, and that price is time and pain and part of your soul. Over time all are worth the sacrifice, the bumps and bruises, the rough patches and emotional valleys to climb the mountains and see views others that are unwilling to struggle will never experience. As Madonna sang justify your love, but more importantly justify your pain and struggle by creating the life that is worthy of you and your sacrifices as you build something significant of and for your loves.
