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THE POWER OF SACRIFICE You Can't Keep Everything and Still Become Everything. · The Black Sheep Leadership Podcast

• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everybody, I want to welcome you to the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Athena Renee, and this is where the underdogs, the misfits, and the black sheep come to turn pain into power so that they can build a life by design and leave a legacy behind.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time tapping in, welcome home, family.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pull up a chair.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're absolutely glad that you're here.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're back again, what's going on, fam?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to see you again.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for trusting me with your time.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't take that lightly.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's do this quick vibe check.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're easily offended, sensitive, entitled, and waiting on somebody to come save you, get your ass up out of here.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: This ain't your safe space.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead now and tap out now.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're ready to think bigger, move smarter, and you refuse to live beneath your potential.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Stay locked in, my friend.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because by the end of this episode, you're walking away with something that you can execute immediately.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Alright?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get to work.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: In the last briefing, we talked about hard decisions.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: We learned that eventually clarity has to become a decision.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the decision has to become a move.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: But there's something that usually happens immediately after you make that move.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: The bill arrives.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily a financial bill, the price of the decision.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's today's briefing.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're still firmly working inside of our black sheep operating system, which is observe, analyze, and execute.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And today we're still working in the execution part of that operating system.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because execution simply it doesn't only require action, it also requires being willing to give up something you value for something you've decided matters more.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everybody wants the upgrade, but very few people ask, what's the upgrade going to cost me?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: We want the business without sacrificing free time, we want the body without changing habits, the degree without studying, the financial freedom, the peaceful life without letting go of chaotic people.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the next level, without releasing anything from the current one black sheep, life it doesn't usually work like that.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why today's intel briefing is called the power of sacrifice.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can't keep everything and still become everything.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's unpack it, okay?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because we must get to that place where sacrifice is a punishment, you know.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: We have to see it as a prioritization because you can't sacrifice you can't keep everything while still wanting to become something else, okay?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let's hop right into this one because this is going to be one of those episodes, it's not an easy one, but we gotta talk about it because family, a lot of the episodes that I bring you, I want you to understand that we put careful thought into each and every episode.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And some of the episodes that we're discussing, at that moment in time, I'm going through it right then and there.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I say that, family, because you know, as a black sheep, our path, our journey has been very troublesome, many for many of us.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's been um one hell of a roller coaster ride, you know, and we continue to push on and move on.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a lot of information that we are living under, we haven't had anybody tell us about it.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody really gave us the handbook, the rule book.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we didn't have mentors in the beginning for a lot of us, and so I want to take the time out to drop a few episodes.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Really, a lot of these episodes is really coming from that birthing place when you've had an idea that you've wanted for so long, and you're in that place where um it seems like you've just done so many different things and you don't know what to do.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to, these are some of the episodes I want you to always feel free to go back to it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know, family, a lot of things in life, as we talked about in our previous in our previous episode, a lot of things in life, number one, doesn't come until you execute, but number two, you don't get the full clarity and the um you don't get the full clarity or the um certainty is the word I'm looking for.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: You don't get the full certainty until you look back.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, family, I I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I'm an ex an expert at everything in life, but I do know a lot about being a black sheep.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes, as I've stated, you can ask whether they're black sheep or not.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of our wisdom does not happen until we look back.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of the certainty and guarantees and things like that.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I really have been listening to a um episode about how we need to release the idea of the outcome.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's really powerful.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just to stop thinking about the outcome, right?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Stop thinking about it and just think about the process, and that's why we're talking about sacrifices being the prioritization.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because even though you know you're shooting for an outcome, you really truly can't control that outcome.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: You really can't.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can't control the outcome, family.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so let's get into this episode.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Principle one: every yes contains a no.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: See, every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else, even if you don't realize it.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Saying yes to scrolling for three hours, you said no to three hours somewhere else.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Saying yes to doom scrolling, right?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're saying no to something else.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Saying yes to spending the money, you said no to whatever else that money could have done.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Saying yes to staying up all night, you may be saying no to tomorrow morning energy.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the reverse is true.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Saying yes to studying, you may have to say no to going out, right?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you say you want to say, if you're saying yes to study saving, you may have to say no to buying something today.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's why sacrifice isn't all about suffering, it's about trade-offs.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: See, think about a luggage.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Think about luggage at the airport.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're flying somewhere and the airline gives you a weight limit.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can't put the entire house in their luggage, right?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, you have to decide what goals.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: And black sheep, some of us are trying to enter the next chapter of our lives, dragging six suitcases from the last one.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Old habits, old relationships, old spending patterns, identities, obligations, grudges, and distractions.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Then we wonder why moving forward feels so heavy.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you don't even need more motivation, you simply need to lighten that luggage, right?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of you guys probably heard of Erica Badu's song called Bag Lady.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know why, family?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes we just gotta let go of certain things, people, places, and things sometimes.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of times we've we've we've done so much to build up.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's like letting go.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that's what it's about, family.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it really is now.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Here's where people get sacrifice wrong.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Suffering for the sake of suffering isn't automatically noble.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's why principle two is all about sacrifice, it has to be connected to a purpose.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Working yourself to into the ground, right?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: How we used to do back in the day, working two and three jobs, it isn't a flex if you don't have a major purpose behind it.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Neglecting your health is an ambition, destroying every relationship around you isn't being focused.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Black sheep, that's not what I'm teaching.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sacrifice needs an objective, otherwise, you're just losing things.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's a difference between I'm sacrificing because I know what I'm building and I'm the I'm constantly depriving myself because I think struggle makes me worthy.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: No, family.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what we're doing, right?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Please, okay, don't.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what we're doing.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Purpose.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is why we always hear this word come up.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Purpose gives sacrifice to meaning.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: See, this matters because you can become so obsessed with success that you sacrifice the very things that were supposed to help you enjoy it.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your health, character, family, peace, integrity.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's a terrible trade.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Every price isn't worth paying.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's why black sheep leadership requires values.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: You need to know.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: What am I willing to sacrifice?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And equally important, what am I not willing to sacrifice?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're willing to sacrifice television, but not sleep indefinitely.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're willing to sacrifice convenience, but not integrity.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're willing to sacrifice temporary comfort, not your health.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're willing to sacrifice being like, but not becoming cruel.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: See, that's power because now your ambition has boundaries, family.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Put a purpose to that sacrifice.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Put a purpose to that sacrifice, right?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're not doing things because as a black sheep family, we do all kinds of stuff making everybody else happy.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is not that time.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is not that time.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really want you to understand that.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Principle number three: temporary sacrifice can create permanent options.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is where sacrifice becomes strategic.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you give up something today to create more choices tomorrow.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: You study after work for six months so you can qualify for another career.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: You live beneath your means temporarily so you can build savings.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: You spend Saturday building your business so one day your entire income isn't dependent on another one employer.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: You stop entertaining every relationship because you're trying to build a healthier life.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: You invest time into writing the book because of course.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: You you invest time into writing the book, building the course, learning the software, earning the credential, right?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: In the moment it can feel like you're missing something.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: But family, you may actually be buying options.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: See, think about a seed.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: For the seed to become what it's capable of becoming, it cannot remain exactly as it is.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: The seed disappears.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So the plant can't emerge.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's transformation.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes your next identity requires the same thing.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: The version of who you the version of you become, of who you become financially disciplined, cannot keep every spending habit of the previous version.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: The version of you who becomes physically stronger can't keep every old routine.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: The version of you who becomes a leader can't keep avoiding every difficult conversation.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Alright?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: See, something changes, something gets released, something gets exchanged.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: The version of you who builds something meaningful cannot remain available for every single distraction, family.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: See, family, we've all as black sheets, we've already sacrificed too much for other people.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Alright?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is where I want to talk specifically to my black sheep family.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because some of us hear the word sacrifice and think, man, Athena, I've been sacrificing my whole damn life.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I can relate because you probably have.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: You sacrifice for family, relationships, jobs, friends, people who needed you, even people who didn't appreciate it.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: You sacrifice your time, your energy, sometimes your money.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not telling you to become better at sacrificing yourself for everybody else.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you something different.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you to start sacrificing strategically for your purpose.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's the shift.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you were willing to lose sleep worrying about somebody else's dream, can you spend an hour building yours?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you're willing to spend money rescuing everybody else, can you invest something into your own deployment or development?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you gave years to an employer, can you give a few hours each week to building another option for yourself?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Black Sheep Family, you already understand sacrifice.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: The office is the question is, has your sacrifice been funding your future or everybody else's?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna read that, I'm gonna read that question again for you, okay?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Has your sacrifice been funding your future or everybody else's?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that, family, because if you don't know the answer to that, you could reach a stage and age in life where you're absolutely pissed off and bitter because you have been helping and supporting and doing all these things for everybody else, and it's just nothing there for you.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the truth: you're gonna sacrifice something.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody does.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: You sacrifice now, or sometimes you sacrifice later.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can sacrifice some spending today or sacrifice options when an emergency arrives, you can sacrifice some comfort to learn, or sacrifice opportunities because you never developed the skill.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can sacrifice time to take care of your health, or potentially sacrifice more time dealing with consequences later.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's no guarantees, but there are trade-offs.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: And once you understand that, sacrifice becomes less about punishment and more about intentional choice.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Here's intelligence.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Every yes creates a no.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Every price isn't worth paying, family.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: And black sheep especially need to stop automatically sacrificing themselves for everyone else's priorities while starving your own.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Choose what matters more, then let your sacrifices reflect it.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because trust and believe, black sheep family, when you become a sacrifice that somebody else has to make, I can promise you, they won't think twice about putting you to the side.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: They won't think twice about it, family.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so let's get into these three action moves.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, identify the price, choose one major goal.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Axe.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: What will this realistically require for me?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Is it time, money, discipline, comfort, a habit?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Be specific.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Move two, create your non-negotiable list.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Write down what you you're not willing to sacrifice to reach your goal, whether it be your integrity, health, certain family responsibilities, your values.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Success without boundaries becomes self or can become self-destruction.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Trust and believe that family.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Move three, make one strategic trade this week.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Give up one hour of low value thing for one higher at value action.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: One hour of doing scrolling for one hour of studying, one unnecessary purchase towards towards saving, one distraction from one page of the book, small trade repeatedly consistently.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's how sacrifice becomes an investment.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Black sheep family, I want you to think about this.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Stop sacrificing your future to protect comforts you won't even remember.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Stop sacrificing your future to protect comforts you won't even remember.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And black sheep, if you're realizing that your next chapter is going to require different priorities, that's part of what we're looking for in the free black sheep reinvention masterclass.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're taking, we're talking about intentionally designing your next chapter instead of waiting for design for life to design it for you.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because reinvention isn't only about what you're going to start, sometimes it's about deciding where you're finally willing to stop.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: The masterclass is completely free, family.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: The registration link is in the episode description, okay.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Family, you don't have to sacrifice everything.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: You need to decode what matters more.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Then leave a core, then live accordingly.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: So don't hear today's lesson.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just hear it.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Run it, test it, and master it.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because information is everywhere, but execution is rare.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next briefing.