When you think about the life of an assassin, or a former assassin, what has he given up to live that life?  This is a rarely noticed or discussed topic because it never seems like there was ever another choice.  What trade-offs did he make in order to become an assassin?  What trade-offs did he make in order to run and hide from his mob boss so that he could not be an assassin anymore?

Although we aren’t assassins off-screen, we do often have to give things up in order to get to our dreams.  We have to eat right and work out to look good and have good health.  We have to wake up early to start writing and earning income.  We have dream vacations that we can’t take yet in order to be able to work and save toward our goals.  And, tonight, we’re both working away from each other in order to get our goals done.

In a movie, where time is sped up and theme music is playing, it seems glamorous for the character to forgo life’s luxuries in order to reach some goal.  But in real life, there is no theme music when we wake up at 5 AM.  The little battles must be fought.  The long-game must be played.  And, even though it’s not exciting in the moment, the results – passing an exam, buying a house, having a freshly-painted room, writing a paper and making a movie are worth the small strokes that got us there.

How about you?  What do you give up in order to get your goals?  What are your goals, and are they worth it?