price, little wishes, scarcity

There's a price for everything. Not always in coins-and-notes sense though.

Just think about little wishes like being elegant in your words and behaviour, or having a respectable character. (not to mention those visible goals like being better public speakers or dancers, etc.) There's a price to pay for all these.

Let's just take a closer look at those little wishes.

Typically they require more of your physical and mental energy. They want you to go an extra mile on daily basis but never prize you with a candy on the way. They make you exhausted for something that no one seems to care...

That means you need to create the motivation yourself.

Sometimes the desired outcome is like reputation. It takes a long long time to build but can easily be ruined. It's as invisible as oxygen but as fragile as crystal. It's frustrating. That's why most people don't bother to take these little goals seriously...

...so when you do, you are special; when you take time and efforts to get there, you create scarcity. This doesn't pay right away, it doesn't always pay in notes-and-coins sense, but it pays.