Every dream that comes alive demands a price. Nothing lasting is ever free, and no success is ever birthed without sacrifice. Too often, people admire the fruit on someone else’s tree but rarely pause to ask what roots had to die, what branches had to be pruned, and what storms had to be endured for that tree to grow. Dreams are beautiful, but behind every shining achievement lies a trail of things let go of excuses abandoned, habits broken, distractions silenced, and sometimes, even relationships laid down.
Let me tell you about Ruth.
Ruth was born in a small farming village in Ghana, where mornings began with roosters crowing and the smell of firewood smoke drifting through the air. Her family wasn’t wealthy; in fact, they barely had enough. Her father was a fisherman, her mother sold vegetables in the local market, and Ruth was the second of six children. Everyone expected her to follow the same path ,get married young, raise children and live quietly. But Ruth had something burning inside her: she wanted to become a medical doctor.
She would watch the nurses who visited the village clinic in their crisp white uniforms and see the respect they carried, but beyond that, she saw how they brought relief to people who were suffering. She remembered one night vividly her younger brother was sick with malaria, and the closest hospital was hours away. Ruth sat by his bed all night, tears in her eyes, whispering, “If only I knew what to do, I could save him.” That was the night her dream was born.
But dreams don’t feed themselves they cost.
Ruth studied under candlelight when the power went out, often trading meals so she could buy textbooks. She refused to go to parties when her friends called; instead, she buried her face in anatomy diagrams. When her relatives mocked her, saying, “Why waste time? No girl from here becomes a doctor,” she smiled politely and went back to her notes. When her first boyfriend told her, “You’re too serious. If you don’t slow down, you’ll lose me,” she made the hardest choice, she let him go. She knew that clinging to people who couldn’t see her future would drag her backward.
Sacrifice became her daily companion. She walked miles to school when she had no bus fare. She skipped sleep to revise for exams. She missed family gatherings because she had practical lessons. Each time she gave something up, it felt like tearing away a piece of herself. But each time, she reminded herself: “This is the price of my dream.”
Years passed, and slowly the seeds of sacrifice began to grow. Ruth earned a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Ghana. It wasn’t easy she was surrounded by students from wealthier homes who had better resources but she held her ground. While they relaxed after lectures, she stayed back in the library, determined to master what she didn’t understand.
Her defining moment came when she graduated with honors, the first female doctor from her village. When she returned home, the entire community came out to welcome her, drums beating, children singing, elders blessing her name. The same people who once doubted her now looked at her with awe. She had not only achieved her dream but had become proof that sacrifice produces legacy.
But Ruth didn’t stop there. She set up a health initiative that provided free medical outreach to rural villages across Ghana. She made it her life’s mission to ensure no child would suffer the way her brother once did because help was too far away.
At the end of it all, Ruth said something unforgettable:
"Although I lost friends, also I lost comfort, I even lost love but definitely I gained my purpose. Sacrifice didn’t take from me. It shaped me. The dream didn’t come cheap, but it was worth every price I paid."
And that’s the truth: the dream you carry in your heart will demand something from you. If you’re not willing to let go of excuses, you’ll hold on to mediocrity. If you’re not willing to silence distractions, your focus will scatter. If you’re not willing to release relationships that choke your growth, you’ll stay stuck in places you’ve outgrown.
Success is never an accident. It is always intentional, always costly, always birthed from sacrifice.
So today, ask yourself: What am I willing to give up so I can go up?
Remember Ruth. Remember her story. And remember that the world is waiting for your dream, but only you can decide whether you’ll pay the price.
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