Did you know the famous artist Pablo Picasso burned many of his paintings to stay warm when he was facing extreme financial problems while living in Paris? Can you imagine taking your masterpiece paintings that you spent an immense amount of time on and using them as firewood? Well, Pablo did! I am not sure whether to be impressed by his resourcefulness or shocked by his desperation. No matter how I feel though the fact remains that he had to do what he had to do in order to stay alive. He definitely figured out a way to create a warm future!

Many people hope for the future to magically turn out great rather than making it turn out great. Hope is a wonderful thing, but it is not a strategy. Most people just accept their life, they do not intentionally lead it. Pablo could have simply waited until he acquired firewood in order to stay warm, but he may have froze to death in the meantime. Rather, he made a way to survive no matter what the cost. The truth is nothing of great significance happens automatically without a purpose, a plan, and persistence. Anything that is of extreme worth cost something. Usually the better quality an item is, the higher the price.

Creating a great future comes with a price tag. We have to be willing to pay the price of hard work and dedication in order to get what we want out of life. Nothing of greatness comes at bargain values when it involves our future. It is only through living out specific principles that push ourselves to be better that we bring about a great future. Coach Vince Lombardi said, “Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”

What is it that you want for your future? I guarantee it comes with a price.

• Do you want financial freedom from debt? Then the price is sacrifice, by saving your money when you want to spend it. 
• Do you want love? Then the price is humility, by giving your heart and love to others.
• Do you want influence? Then the price will be time, by going out of your way to add value to the lives of others.

For everything we want in life, there is a price tag attached to it. Only those that are willing to pay the price are the ones that will receive the prize. A great future comes with a great price, unfortunately, it is not free.

Here are some things to think about when it comes to paying the price for a great future…

1. Everyone pays a price

There is no one that is exempt from paying the price to be great. It doesn’t matter where you came from or who you came from, at some point, you will have to pay up. No one gets a free ticket to significance, it comes with a price tag. And greatness never happens automatically in life. If you think success will come to you without paying a price I have some bad news for you! Success happens when we have paid the price to be successful. You reap what you sow. If you are not sowing seed you will not reap the harvest. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell says, “You have to give up in order to go up.” Greatness does not come upon you, it must come from within you and that takes intentional effort.

“Greatness does not come upon you, it must come from within you and that takes intentional effort.”

2. The price is different for everyone

Not everyone pays the same price for a better future. Some will pay a higher price than others. Just because someone pays a certain price does not mean others will have to pay the same amount. The most important thing to know is what price will be required of you in order to be great? Don’t compare the price you have to pay to what others have to pay, you just worry about the price you have been called to pay. When we compare ourselves to others, we always lose. If you compare yourself to someone who paid less of a price, you can become bitter and jealous as to why you have to pay more. If you compare your cost to someone who paid more of a price than you, it can cause you to become arrogant. All of us are on a different journey in life. Your journey is specific to the price you, and you alone have to pay.

3. The payment never ends

The higher you go in life the more you’ll have to pay. Paying the price is not a one-time event, it is a lifestyle. Just because you paid a price once doesn’t mean you never pay the price again. The higher you go the more it will cost you. If you want to keep moving forward you have to keep paying the toll of progress. Think of the future like a diet, if you want to stay at a healthy weight you can’t just crash diet to get there and then stop dieting and expect to remain healthy. In order to maintain your weight, you have to keep eating healthy or you will gain the weight back and become unhealthy again, very quickly! If you want to say at the top you have to continually pay the price on a daily basis. 

“The higher you go the more it will cost you.”