“Success requires the sacrifice of hours, but complacency requires the sacrifice of dreams.
We pay the price of an extraordinary life or the regrets of an average life.”
— J. Soforic, The Wealthy Gardener
We all pay a price for our choices. Even not choosing is a choice. A life without the pursuit of dreams or purpose is a questionable existence. Perhaps this is why my retirement seven years ago was so brief—complacency leads to decline, and decline is not fun.
Why Work So Hard?
According to economists MacKerron and Bryson, working ranks just above being sick in bed as one of the most miserable states of unhappiness. However, the key difference lies in agency and choice—working with autonomy and purpose is vastly different from working without them.
“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
— Attributed to Mark Twain
The perfect job likely doesn’t exist. The second-best option? Acquiring the power to reshape the work you do. In a capitalist society, that power comes from money—money that buys security, freedom, and control over one’s time. It enables a doctor to garden every other day or a successful professional to choose farming as a passion rather than a necessity.
The Path to Agency
Success is not about accumulating money for its own sake; it’s about creating the optionality to design a fulfilling life. Accepting complacency isn’t okay. Being merely “okay” isn’t okay. A life without power over one’s time is a life constrained.
The way out? Pay the price. Sacrifice the hours. Do the reps. Eat the frog. Pursue the extraordinary, even when the climb is daunting and strenuous.
