The Price of Rebellion and Supporting a BIG Cause: There is Always a Major Price to Pay

I think the Andor tv series is one of the most underrated Star Wars series i’ve watched. One of the most striking speeches I’ve read was by character Luthen Rael who helped start the rebellion against the Empire.  

“Calm. Kindness, kinship. Love. I’ve given up all chance at inner peace, I’ve made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there’s only one conclusion: I’m damned for what I do. 

My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they’ve set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost, and by the time I looked down, there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. 

What is... what is my sacrifice? I’m condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else’s future. I burn my life, to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see. No, the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror, or an audience, or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice?

Everything.” 

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3RCme2zZRY

It’s chilling. It’s heroic and tragic at the same time. And while most of us aren’t starting rebellions against a dictatorial empire (yet), this comment is still highly relevant to the startup & entrepreneurial world. Or really any major movement. It absolutely rings true. 

Doing great things requires great sacrifices. There is no free lunch. There is no dabbling. Great things also require deep commitment. Commitment of your body and your soul. You have to “want it” more than the other guy. You have to do tremendous amounts of work. You have to push yourself to your limits. This is the cost of great achievement in human life. 

It means taking Risk in business and investing parlance. No Risk, No Gain. 

And yet many people are still looking for the free lunch or the easy way. And sadly, that is why most people are NGMI (Not Going to Make It).