Let’s start with a simple truth:

Every single thing you want in life comes at a cost.

There is always a cost of entry. An unavoidable price you must pay to achieve the things you say you want.

Some are obvious…

• Hard work is a cost of entry for business success.
• Discipline is a cost of entry for physical health.
• Practice is a cost of entry for skill mastery.

…but some are not.

A lot of problems in life arise when you’re simply unaware that the struggle you’re facing is actually the cost of entry. You waste energy complaining about it—or worse, trying to avoid it—but in doing so, you hold yourself back from what you’re truly capable of.

With that in mind, here are seven non-obvious costs of entry you have to pay to live the life you want…

Imposter syndrome is a cost of entry for growth

When you’re pushing yourself for more, the self-doubt starts to creep in.

Imposter syndrome tells you to retreat. To remain safely within the bounds of your current competencies. To avoid the new opportunities. To hide from the rooms where you don’t feel like you belong.

But that feeling of discomfort when you start pushing past your preconceived limits is natural. It’s a positive. It's a sign you're taking on things that will force you to grow.

Embrace the Yet Mindset:

• "I'm not good enough" becomes "I'm not good enough...yet."
• "I don't know how to do it" becomes "I don't know how to do it...yet."
• "I'm not capable of that" becomes "I'm not capable of that...yet."

"Yet" becomes your one word reminder that you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. It is the reminder that you are dynamic and capable of more than you realize.

You’re an imposter. And that’s a good thing.

Uncertainty is a cost of entry for achievement

Tolerance for uncertainty is one of the most valuable human traits.

Most people are so afraid of uncertainty that they leap at the chance to avoid it. Right on the verge of the breakthrough, they take the comfortable path. They settle. They relent. They accept.

Your success in life is proportional to the amount of uncertainty you can tolerate.

It’s easy to show up when the rewards are certain. When everything makes sense. When the path is entirely clear.

But there is no clear, linear path to the life you want.

The real path? It’s long and winding. Full of doubt and stagnation.

The real rewards in life go to those who can show up every single day when the rewards are uncertain. Who show up day after day without a guarantee. It’s taking the next step forward even when you can’t see where your foot is going to land.

Those who win aren’t always the smartest or most talented. They’re the ones who can hold their nerve the longest.

The one who can tolerate the most uncertainty is the one who will eventually win.

Loneliness is a cost of entry for personal transformation

When you start growing, changing, and developing, you’ll stop fitting into your present environment.

The people you aligned with will start to feel distant. Almost as if you start speaking an entirely different language. You won’t have much to talk about. They won't understand your values or motivations.

They’ll say you've changed. They’ll laugh at your ambitions. They’ll tell you to be realistic.

But as you leave behind the old, you have yet to attract and build the new.

This season of loneliness is natural, a sign you're on the right path. Embrace it.

Use the solitude to accelerate your pace of transformation.

Boredom of routine is a cost of entry for success

Social media rewired our brains to constantly chase novelty. We swipe until we find the fresh, new thing that grabs our attention.

But unfortunately, that obsession with novelty is the single greatest risk to building the life you want.

An observation on the most successful people I've been around:

They have a high tolerance for boredom.

The most meaningful things in life are built through the consistent execution of the very boring basics. Businesses are built through years of pounding away on a core, central idea. Careers are built through years of showing up and doing what you say you're going to do. Relationships are built through years of presence. Bodies are built through years of basic daily movement and nutrition.

Real success isn't flashy. It's built through long periods of extremely disciplined, boring routines. If you chase novelty, you'll never allow the magic of compounding to do its thing.

Find joy in the boring. Show up, do the work, repeat.

To shine in the light, you have to embrace the boredom in the dark.

Hard conversations are a cost of entry for meaningful relationships

Your success in building deep, loving bonds is proportional to the number of hard conversations you're willing to have.

I have a theory when it comes to hard conversations:

When you avoid a hard conversation, you're taking on a debt. That debt has to be repaid (with interest) at a date in the future.

Time doesn't heal anything when it comes to relationships. Make the minor repairs along the way and you'll avoid the major repairs later on.

The relationship you want is on the other side of the hard conversation you avoid.

Criticism is a cost of entry for excellence

“If you absolutely can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting.” - Jeff Bezos

You’ll have more critics if you strive for excellence than if you settle for mediocrity.

Average is addictive. It’s applauded by the crowd. You won’t be criticized for staying the same. You’ll be encouraged.

When you're on your journey to growth, some people won't like it. They’ll criticize your every move because it doesn’t blend in with the crowd.

But recognize one truth: This is fundamentally not about you.

Your growth, focus, and improvement are exposing something in them: Their insecurities, their fears, their lack of ambition.

To paraphrase the famous words of Teddy Roosevelt:

It’s not the critic who counts. It’s the man in the arena.

Embarrassment is a cost of entry for progress

The only way to accomplish something meaningful is to endure days, weeks, months, or even years of embarrassing failure.

Most people are so afraid of feeling “stupid” in a public setting. They don’t ask the simple question. They don’t share the piece of writing. They don’t build the v1 prototype.

But if you can train yourself to endure that feeling, you’ll find gold on the other side.

The most successful people I know actually love the feeling of being an embarrassing beginner. They thrive on that newness. They love diving into something with a child-like curiosity. The beginner’s embarrassment is actually a positive signal.

Embrace that beginner's embarrassment and you will change your life.

Pay It With Pride

There is a cost of entry for everything you want in life.

The world belongs to those who see it for what it is.

The world belongs to those who embrace meaningful struggle.

The world belongs to those who pay the cost of entry with pride.