The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the opportunity cost as "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.” The opportunity cost of success is the value of the next best thing you give up when you peruse success.

While everyone knows that success requires some sacrifices, not everyone grasps the fact that success is actually built on said sacrifices, the greater you want to be, the harsher the sacrifices, the more expensive your opportunity cost.

In The Last Dance documentary, Michael Jordan – the bigger than life baller - explained how winning was the only thing on his mind, often harsh on his teammates (to the point of being a tyrant), and on himself, Jordan knew that his mentality was the only way to play the game and win. In the last moments of the documentary, Jordan explained that he did whatever it took to win.

“Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged. And I earned that right because [other] teammates came after me. They didn’t endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn’t going to take anything less,” MJ concluded while holding back tears in his last interview for The Last Dance.

In an interview with The Guardian, Queen B herself explained that she “sacrificed... life “ to get where she is today. She sacrificed “being able to walk down the street and being able to make mistakes and not have it recorded forever ... being able to have regular relationships and dates ... just regular, normal things that people probably don't even think about .” She goes on to explain that the road to success is a lifestyle, that since she was 15 she “hasn’t had longer than a couple of months off'“ ever in her life. She was willing to do anything to achieve greatness, she was raised with the mindset that “anything that's worth anything takes a lot of sacrifices.” Beyoncé only saw one option: greatness, and sacrificed her life to get there.

Getting there is the real fight, having that mental framework that focuses on success day in and day out without getting derailed is what makes legends.

In MJ’s second season playing for the Chicago Bulls, he got an injury that had a 10% chance of ending his career, Bulls ownership wanted to shut down Jordan for the remainder of the season, but “staying home and watching TV” wasn’t winning. Jordan took the risk and they came up with an agreement for him to play 7 minutes per half, which only served to fuel him up. Even though he only had 7 mins, he gave them his all. Without this determination he wouldn’t have set the NBA playoff record with 63 points that season, leading to Larry Bird’s famous declaration that he was “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

In a similar form, it’s reported that Beyoncé trained for 3 months straight for a 10 min performance during the Superball 50 halftime show with Coldplay. This is what determination and perseverance looks like.

Success is a long-term investment and while most people opt for easier short term rewards, greats keep their focus and do whatever it takes to reach their goal. All this talk about success leads me to think most people aren’t really striving for success but or for what comes with success.

MJ strived for the win, not the fame, fortune, and status. Beyoncé worked to be the best performer out there. Do we want to be successful or do we want the clout that comes with it?