It’s Just Temporary
Making sacrifices today with a hope to reap the reward later can be hard.
John Maxwell the leadership expert, coach and world-renowned speaker is quoted as saying, “You can pay now, and play later, or you can play now and pay later. But either way, you are going to pay.” I saw that expression play out in my life when going to school to get my Masters’s degree. And at the same time working for the NBA and the arena. I was making sacrifices by working long hours so I could provide for my son. Working long hours also meant I sacrificed time with my son.
I had to find a way to work around the challenge of being away from him for long hours as I worked or went to school.
Or struggled to find someone to watch him. So, I incorporated him into my job, events, and even took him to school with me. I got very little sleep and rest during those years, but I knew I was making sacrifices at that time so I could one day afford to live the life I wanted.
The sacrifices paid off for me after I completed my Masters.
I got two successive jobs where I earned more money with each move.
Eventually I quit my job, to start my own business and non-profit. My personal experience with making sacrifices showed me the challenging part would eventually go away. If you are making sacrifices in your life and also working hard to see your goals come alive, keep going.
When you’re tired and sleepy and feel like giving up, remember it’s temporary. As you persist, you will get through it. Your sacrifices will be worth it in the end. The memory of all the late nights, long working hours, little sleep and rest will be nothing more than a distant memory.
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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges. provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.
Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker? I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.
