In the Bible, specifically the book of Luke chapter 14:25-35, Jesus is telling parables to His disciples about counting the cost of following Him. He goes in depth about what exactly must be sacrificed in order to truly be called a disciple. Verses 33 through 35 say this (from The Message Version), "Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple. Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it's useless, good for nothing. Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
When we start a journey, process, goal list or whatever you would like to call it, I don't believe we have a full understanding of what it entirely means to count the cost. I think the initial anticipation of getting it done overwhelms us with excitement and feelings of happiness. If I can compare it to a relationship, this would be what is called the Puppy Love phase. We will jump right in not prepared for when the journey takes an unexpected turn or runs head on into a brick wall. In business, this could mean customers failing to make timely payments, not having a good amount of startup capital, investors pulling away funding or even teammates deciding they no longer want to be on the team.
It is in those moments we begin to calculate and process the cost of the damage brought on by the unexpected. The revelation floods in like, "Oh, this is what you mean!" I wish, even just for myself, that we would take the time to truly account for those above scenarios. It would save us from much mental and emotional anguish. The aftermath of disaster always leave a path of destruction that we are responsible to clean up. You can then begin to rebuild and do it right because you have a new found understanding of what to anticipate.
I say all of that to tell you this: It is worth every cent. I am in the foundation laying phase of building my business and I'm learning that success comes with a hefty price tag. I don't mean capital to get a marketing campaign started or having enough payroll for my team. I mean I've lost people who I thought would be with me in the trenches. Now, I have nothing but love for each of them but every time that happened, it reminded me that this is the cost of building an empire. People will come... and they will go... and they will stay... AND they will go "prodigal son" on you. BUT YOU ARE THE CONSTANT! You can't quit on you. You have to be able to press towards the mark even if you have to do it solo for a while.
Reward comes with everything you have to sacrifice. Every single time I thought I lost something or someone, God always replaced it with better and more! For instance, the first person to leave me was right after I started my business. They trained me, kept me motivated and gave me resources. Then straight ghosted me. I was devastated. Soon there after, I had two women that partnered with me. Recently, while in the process of restructuring, an unresolved issue led to a dissolving of partnership. Nevertheless, I'm still being shown favor. I still am receiving business coaching and crossing things off my Get It Done list, like receiving my CPR/AED certification and enrolling in more certification classes.
So, yeah, I've lost some pretty precious things but like I've already said, God always replaced it with better and more." Whether you are going to school, going to work, starting a business, getting into a relationship, make sure you count the cost. Will your ROI (Return On Investment) be worth the risk? Or is the price out of your budget? Only you can decide if it is or isn't. I pray this encourages to keep going after your call no matter what.