Sacrifice is not a Four Letter Word?
Is Sacrifice a Four Letter Word?
I am a big fan of sacrifice, The road to financial independence is long. The best way, in my estimation, to reach financial freedom is to front load that sacrifice. It’s a matter of compounding. Not only do monetary investments compound, but also experience and seniority in the workplace. After a good decade of grinding away, momentum kicks in. This is the point when both W2s as well as stature in one’s job skyrocket. There are no shortcuts. No easy ways to bypass putting in the initial effort that is necessary. Yet, sacrifice, it seems, has been getting a bad name as of late. With newer and younger folks discovering the financial independence movement, a backlash has been brewing. I contend, however, that sacrifice is not a four letter word.
Definition Sacrifice: A loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause.
The Next Generation
A new generation of young people is redefining our vision of retirement and financial independence. These youngsters grew up watching their parents slave away for decades under a traditional work environment with very little to show for their struggles at the end of the tunnel.
Rightly horrified by what they have witnessed, the idea of spending even short periods of time in the typical nine to five dirge is anathema. Work/life balance has become a rallying cry of the generation.
Spurred on by visions of the endless toil of their fore-bearers, career prospects skew towards choice, agility, and freedom to follow the wind in whichever way it blows.
Although I believe sacrifice is not a four letter word, it certainly seems so to this generation that prefers to build a life of purpose from the get-go.
Sacrifice and Fulfillment
Most of the rage against sacrifice seems to center on fulfillment. I believe, however, there exists a false dichotomy among these two entities. They are not mutually exclusive.
My professional pathway is a perfect example. There is no sane way to discuss medical training without using the word sacrifice. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear a physician say that they sacrificed their youth to become a doctor. Yet, in the same breath, they will tell you how fulfilling this life path has been and how they felt great purpose in the journey.
Sacrifice is simply trading one commodity for another. In medical school, I traded my time, money, and sleep for the advantages and joys of training.
And yes, even the current generation is making sacrifices. They are just not calling them sacrifices because they are more bent on the life side of the work/life balance. When you take a mini-retirement at the age of 25 and go backpacking around Europe, you sacrifice career development for life experience.
Sacrifice is not a four letter word. It’s a choice that we all make between competing urges and needs in our lives.
Sacrifice and Deceleration
When I talk about front loading the sacrifice, what I am really saying is that if you make the right work related sacrifices early in your career, the number of sacrifices you make will sharply decelerate over time.
In other words, find a fulfilling career choice early. Sacrifice work/life balance in the beginning. Lose a little sleep. Work a bunch of weekends. Maybe put off the mini-retirement for the first decade of being out in the professional world. Allow yourself to attack a fulfilling career with purpose and intention.
A decade later with money in the bank compounding, your sacrifices will decelerate greatly.
You will be able to forego working nights and weekends if you want to. Mini-retirements and travel will be easier and less costly to your earning power.
You will be coasting on momentum,
Final Thoughts
Life is too short to feel like you are spending every day at your desk in a cubicle doing mindless work and waiting anxiously for the hour hand to progress.
This is no way to live.
However, starting a fulfilling career by sacrificing time and energy during the beginning stages will not only pay endless dividends but will also lead to greater opportunity and less sacrifice later in life.
Sacrifice is not a four letter word.
One way or another, you will have to trade time for money throughout your life.
If you do it while you are young, you take advantage of the compounding effect early.
And we all believe in the power of compounding, don’t we?