There’s a quote I came across recently that hit harder than most:

“If you want to have everything, you need to do everything.”

Sounds motivating, right? Grind harder. Stack the habits. Outwork the competition.

But it’s incomplete.

Because in reality, if you want to have everything, you usually need to give up almost everything else.

At least temporarily.

Let’s break this down.

The Illusion of Addition

Most people approach goals like a checklist:

• Train hard

• Eat clean

• Sleep 8 hours

• Start a business

• Scale to 7 figures

• Be present with family

• Grow on socials

• Meditate

• Read more

• And don’t forget cardio

They assume success is a matter of adding more in.

But the truth is:

The highest performers don’t just do more. They sacrifice more.

What you’re willing to walk away from matters more than what you’re willing to take on.

Wants, Preferences, Consequences, Sacrifice

Every outcome has a cost.

Let’s say you want a 7-figure business and a world-class physique. The real price?

• No weekends

• No late nights

• No Netflix, gaming, or social media dopamine hits

• No drinking or junk food

• No comfortable mornings or unscheduled downtime

Not forever. But long enough for the world to take you seriously.

Hormozi calls this doing the boring work.
Cal Newport calls it deep work and attention control.
Ryan Holiday would call it the obstacle that becomes the way.

They’re all saying the same thing:

Sacrifice is not punishment. It’s precision.

The Hard–Easy Effect

We overestimate how easy the outcome will be and underestimate how hard the process will feel.

• “Getting lean will be easy”… until you’re hungry every night.

• “Running a business will be fun”… until you’re staring at a sales tracker and no one’s buying.

• “Posting content is simple”… until no one engages for a month.

This disconnect leads to quitting — not because the goal was too big, but because the sacrifice felt unfair.

The Mental Model That Changes Everything

Before you commit to any goal, ask yourself four questions:

1. What do I want?

2. What do I prefer?

3. What are the consequences of my preferences?

4. What am I willing to sacrifice to get what I want?

And most importantly:

What am I not willing to sacrifice?

Clarity here saves you years.

Final Thought

You can have anything. But you can’t have everything without cost.

So don’t just list what you want.
List what you’re willing to walk away from to get it.

That’s the difference between wishing and winning.

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If you liked this, you’re already doing better than most. But liking something is easy.

Doing it? That’s where the few separate from the many.