@Virgin Virgin Active Beacon Bay, it is Summer in the Eastern Cape; you load our premiums and leave us with no aircon. Not impressed. #virginactivebeaconbay
I was recently struck by a realization:
The people I read books about are very rarely the people I would ever want to trade lives with.
Why?
The price of their success was not one I would be willing to pay.
There is a price tag for anything you want to achieve in life.
Every single thing you want is an output that requires certain inputs to buy or earn.
Importantly, there's a "List Price" and a "Real Price":
• The List Price is the actual, direct price to pay for the thing you want (effort, time, energy, etc.).
• The Real Price is the List Price plus the indirect price in the form of the tradeoffs and opportunity cost of the pursuit.
Using the example of John D. Rockefeller, the List Price for his success was the countless years of 24/7 hard work and focus, but the Real Price also included the loving relationships lost, the physical and mental health deterioration from the nonstop schedule, and the reputation damage of some of his business practices.
There's the List Price you see, and the Real Price you don't.
Before you go after anything, make sure you know both.
What I've learned: There are many things in life that look like a great deal based on the List Price, but a ripoff based on the Real Price.
Three questions we all need to ask ourselves:
1. What is the List Price of the thing you want?
2. What is the Real Price of the thing you want?
3. Are you willing to pay that Real Price?
For me, thinking clearly about the List Price and the Real Price of the things I want has helped create a balanced existence.
I spent most of my life thinking that I wanted to build something enormous, be extraordinarily rich or famous, and have some large buildings named after me.
But while the world certainly needs some people to continue thinking like that, as I've matured, I've realized that the Real Price of those things is not one that I'm willing to pay (at least not for now).
It would almost certainly mean giving up these 1pm Wednesday pool days with my son—and I'm just not willing to do that.
In a different season of my life, perhaps I will reconsider my view on the Real Price, but for now, I'm thrilled to enjoy my pool days and leave the building of something enormous to one of my amazingly ambitious followers!
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@ThePhDPlace Morning from South Africa 🇿🇦 I am a third year PhD student conducting a grounded theory study on social media and anxiety; working full time lecturing at the university.
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