The simple truth of life is that to get the things you really want, you will have to give up something else that you hold dear – whether it is your ‘easy’ life, your evening bar sessions, your comfort food or your time.

Success requires sacrifice. Get used to it.

I decided to try for 21 SAS Selection while all my friends were still students. I was sharing this old house with some great buddies, and we had a pretty cool student life, hanging out, bumming about, chasing girls – you know the story.

It was a fun time, but I quickly realized that if I really was determined to make it through SAS selection, then some things, in fact many things, would have to be sacrificed. The student parties, the lie-ins, the curries, the wine, the worry-free living and the home comforts. . .

None of these things was going to be compatible with attaining what I hoped for by joining the UK Special Forces. But then again, none of those things would ever mean as much to me as the pride of achieving something uniquely special.

Few people try, because few people dare. And most don’t want to give up on the easy.

Think of your favourite sports star. Let me tell you, they spent every waking moment of their teenage years in the gym, pounding pavements or knocking a ball against a wall. You just don’t get good at something unless you dedicate yourself to it.

It’s not rocket science: the rewards go to the dogged.

But sacrifice hurts, which is why so many take the easy option. But what most people don’t realize is that sacrifice also has power. Knowing that you have denied yourself something you wanted often means you put even more effort into achieving your goal. It’s the Yin for the Yang.

I like to see sacrifice as a type of fuel that powers you towards your destination. The more you give up, then the more energy, time and focus you gain to commit to your goal.

It’s never easy to make sacrifices, especially when you know they are going to hurt. But I would encourage you to choose the option that will make you proud.

There is a great line in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost that says: ‘I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to be one of the few or the many?

If you want to achieve something special, then you have to choose a path that most won’t dare to tread.

That can be scary; but exciting. And there will be a cost. Count it. Weigh it. Are you really prepared to pay the price? The sacrifice?

Remember this:

Pain is transitory; pride endures for ever.