I Want to Be Great

To pursue a creative dream takes a willingness to sacrifice anything that would prevent it from happening. These sacrifices cut like knife, but they are essential.

Sacrifices are the hidden foundation behind every dream.

The most painful of these sacrifices are invariably personal relationships. You must put the dream first, but often your partner will need you to put them first. You cannot do both – something has to give.

Sacrificing something from your life to pursue a dream takes just as much courageous as chasing the dream in the first place.

In this scene from the Oscar-Winning movie Whiplash, the central character Andrew Niemann is an ambitious jazz drummer, who is single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. He wants to be one of the greats. For that to happen, he is prepared to make a personal sacrifice.

Related articles