What will you sacrifice for your goals

When I set a goal, I ask myself two questions:

1. What actions/behaviours would make it unreasonable not to succeed?
2. What trades am I willing to make to achieve this goal?

Here I’ll focus on the second question.

I think it’s easier to reduce the things you’re doing rather than add to your to-do list. The frame is: if you sacrifice everything, then the only thing left to do is the thing you need to do.

If you’re in your 20s, here are 3 outcomes:

1. “Live ‘em up”—Fuck around and enjoy life and become an underskilled 30 year old.
2. “Work ‘em up”—Sacrifice some life experiences to become a skilled 30 year old.
3. Or if you define the work as living, you get to do both.

Alex Hormozi: “There’s no perfect way to live your 20s.”

But I’d suggest making the conscious choice so you don’t look back and regret it.

If you decide you want to work pretty hard, then I’d create a list of all the things you’re willing to give up to achieve that dream.

For example, you might sacrifice Netflix, social media, hanging out with friends, social/family obligations, dating, gym, hobbies, sleep, health, your standard of living, etc. I’d go through each part of your life and make that decision.

And it doesn’t have to be forever. You can think of it in seasons. Maybe it lasts 3 months or 3 years.

Here are some trades I’ve given up (as of July 1, 2025):

• No more social sport
• No scrolling social media
• No TV/shows/movies unless socially
• No gaming
• No YouTube (rip F1 highlights)
• No more than 1× social event/week
• 8 hours sleep (currently 5:45–6:30)

At the same time, assuming you have other goals, you want to know what you aren’t willing to trade to maintain other parts of life. E.g., I won’t give up training calisthenics.

This isn’t for everyone, but if you want to work hard in your 20s, you might find this exercise useful. And if you are in a season of ‘No’, then know it doesn’t last forever. Keep pushing.