Wouldn't it be awesome if we could spend every moment of the day doing something we love? Whether you want to play music, write books, or fly kites for a living, there's nothing like being able to live your passion.
But in order to live your passion, you often have to make sacrifices.
You have to sacrifice your time. You rarely have enough time to do everything you want to do, so something has to go. Only a few very lucky people can pay the bills by writing all day long, and most of us have to spend hours at our day job. What little time we do have available is occupied with writing. Say goodbye to video games, TV, and often time with friends and family.
You have to sacrifice your dreams. Perhaps you dreamed of being a professional skateboarder or escape artist. As you work toward that dream, you realize that it is a time-consuming passion. It takes up every minute of your day and all of your brain power. Every other "lesser" dream you had is put on hold or forgotten in order to chase that passion.
It's not always fun, but it's a necessary part of life!
I just spent almost my entire weekend working at my desk. I got the final edits on The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer back from my publisher, so I had to go over them. I also spent the weekend polishing up my manuscript, making sure it's as good as it could be. I had to cram all that into two days in order to reach my publishing deadline.
What happened to my family during that time I was working? I don't know, which sucks. They had to entertain themselves while I worked, rather than us being able to do stuff together. I have no doubt that I'm going to hear about it at some point, but it was a sacrifice I had to make.
To make things worse, I didn't really get a day off. It's Monday and I'm back and work, and I feel like I didn't take a break at all.
But to me, it's all worth it! It's a sacrifice I am willing to make because it's going to ensure that the final product that I put out is not just good, but AS GOOD AS I CAN MAKE IT.
Sacrifices may suck, but they are an important part of being the best you can be.