Beautiful Pain

“Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain.”
― Bob Dylan

That perfectly sculpted body you admire required hours and years of dedication in the gym, as well as sacrifices of tasty desserts and nights out with friends.  It might have also taken going under the knife or some pharmacological assistance, and is maintained through discipline and cost (time and/or money).

That company that you admire was built at the cost of friendships and allnighters that over the months and years destroyed physical health and relationships as evidenced by the decade long schism between Woz and Jobs, and too many others too name.  There were probably numerous fights and near misses from implosion, and hundreds of stories that would make your toes curl along the way.  There is friction in building a great team, ask any of the teammates that Michael Jordan punched on the path to championships.

Your favorite song was inspired by pain.  The most beautiful love poetry hides ache and a shattered soul from a Muse.

All beauty comes at a cost, and the rarer the beauty the more exquisite the agony and dearer the price paid for it.