Determination, Happiness, Inspiration, Purpose, Success

Why Success Requires Sacrifice

As I write this post, my household is dead silent. My three young children are asleep in bed and it’s almost midnight. Tomorrow will be another day that I balance being a stay at home mother, writer and entrepreneur. Although this is the busiest I have ever been, it’s also been the happiest. And I owe it all to the many sacrifices I’ve made to reach this incredible level of success.

Where it all began

Eighteen months ago, in April 2011, I had a vision for a blog. A blog where I would share deep and meaningful thoughts on parenting and motherhood. I wanted to reach out to other mothers and fathers and make a difference. For one year, I touched the lives of parents around the world, but still, this wasn’t enough for me.

A change in direction

In April 2012, I entered a ‘Blogs Competition’ just for the fun of it. But I found myself immersed in the idea of winning. I wanted it so bad. I wrote into the early hours of the morning; I wrote when I had the flu. But I didn’t win. I didn’t even make it as a finalist. But that competition made me realise one very important thing: how absolutely determined I was to be a writer. I wanted to write for everyone now, parents and non-parents, young and the elderly, the confident and the curious. I wanted to write about personal development to improve people’s lives, to build their self-esteem, and motivate them to become better people.

The sacrifices I have made

In order to reach our desired success, we must sacrifice parts of our life. It isn’t possible to fit in everything – we need to sort out our priorities. We must focus less on some aspects, but more on others, at least for the time being.


Photo credit: koratmember / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the last 6 months, I have sacrificed part of my sleep, my sanity, time to myself; to achieve my dream as a writer.

And I can say without a doubt, that it has been worth it.

  • My first ever guest post which was published on one of the top freelance writing websites, was actually written at 3am while I was still breastfeeding my third daughter into the night and doing school runs.
  • My second guest post on the No. 1 Personal Development blog in the UK, was written when my two youngest children were running amok in our house.
  • A blog post I wrote was commented on by a famous Australian author, and written as I looked after all three children.
  • I’ve spent hours working on my first novel, after a day of school runs and being at home with my other two children.
  • I’ve emailed a website at 5am to secure a position as their Regular Contributor.
  • I’ve spent hours picking out the right design for my business cards.
  • But in spite of all this, I have maintained a good relationship with my husband and raised my 3 young children to be well-mannered, happy and healthy.

I have made so many sacrifices, but why?

Because for the first time since University, I feel truly alive. I feel like myself again. I feel like the same 18 year old who chose to study Psychology to change people’s lives. I am doing what I love.

In order to be successful, we have to ask ourselves this.. How determined are we to succeed? How much do we want it? Are we willing to sacrifice parts of our life, in order to obtain the success we desire?

If you really are that determined, you need to understand that they’ll be a lot of sacrifices to make. They’ll be sleepless nights, days you’ll doubt yourself, days you’ll wonder if it’s all worth it.

But if you’re willing to put in the effort, make the sacrifices and stay focused on your goals; then you’ve adopted just the right mentality.

And success for you is right around the corner.

Thuy Wood (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer, resume/cover letter writer and Youth Worker living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.

8 thoughts on “Why Success Requires Sacrifice

  1. Oh this I like, I see you want it real bad! What a truly refreshing feeling, that desire to write despite situation and time, I love that. I really love it. I always wanted to be doing that one thing that makes me want to jump out of bed in the mornings, and I feel that way now about writing. So I totally get this Thuy.

    Well done, good for you. Go forth and you can truly do what your heart desires, and you are living proof of that!

    1. Hi Peggy,

      Yes, as we grow older, there are so many responsibilities we have to deal with and it is hard to juggle it all. But if we truly want something, we have to work hard for it. It’ll take time and a lot of effort, but it doesn’t mean it can’t happen – it’s happened to me!

      I am so glad that you know how it feels to be so passionate about something! Good luck with all your writing!

  2. Awesome story, Thuy!

    Very true… if you want something, NOTHING is holding you back.. Just go get it! Sacrifices are all part of the game… everything comes at an opportunity cost.

    Keep it up!

    Brendan

    1. That is exactly right, Brendan!

      We have to be prove how much we want something and fight for it. When we have that much determination, we know we’ve found our passion.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

  3. Thuy,

    Hello. Thanks for sending the link to me on Twitter. I totally agree with the issue addressed in this blog. You can’t gain something from nothing. In order to achieve a goal; one must first set one. Once you’ve done so; you need to find out what it’s going to take for you to achieve it.

    Being a writer is a struggle each day because you do not always see the benefits of your “gift”. Sometimes you have to look way in the future in order to gain motivation. It’s even more difficult when you have to juggle more than one role. As women our job is never finished. We have to act as mother, spouse/significant other, referee, counselor, cook, maid…the list goes on.

    Whatever you do, you have to keep striving to achieve the goals you’ve set. Everyday is a struggle for me. Some days are better than others. Sometimes I may not have the opportunity to write. Instead I focusing on what I haven’t done; I take heed to all that i have accomplished. We need more writers/women to be candid when it comes to juggling it all. It’s an acquired skill am sometes we just need to hear other women say, “hey, it’s not always easy!”

    Thanks again for recommending your page.

    Keep writing,
    Nai’lah Carter

    1. Hi Nai’lah,

      I definitely know how you feel. Writers need to be able to look beyond short-term rewards and towards their long-term goals. It’s not easy when life and all its responsibilities are thrown into the mix.

      But you’re right, rather than focus on what we haven’t achieved, we need to be proud of what we have. Everyone, no matter what occupation they’re in, struggles with holding on when times get tough.

      But by supporting each other, we can help one another achieve success!

      Thank you for dropping by, glad you enjoyed the post 🙂

  4. […] And it doesn’t matter how tired I am, how busy my life is, how badly I feel like giving up. If I want it that bad, I have to prove it not only through my words but through my actions. I need to make the sacrifices. […]

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