Sacrifice What you Don't Value

​In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are very powerful semi-sentient things call Infinity Stones.  One of these is the Soul Stone. In order to obtain it, the seeker must sacrifice what he or she loves most.  I think founding an ensemble has some parallels (but without the need to physically sacrifice anything or anyone!)--typically it requires a sacrifice of time.  Seeing an ensemble through to success requires effort--oftentimes at the expense of other projects and goals. It’s important to ask ourselves what we are willing to sacrifice for it.  Will we sacrifice the time hanging out with friends to make it happen? Will we sacrifice time with our families? Will we take a job that pays less in order to ensure we have the time to work on our project?  These decisions come down to values--what do we value more? Once we know where we stand on these values, we can know that the time at the bar didn’t really mean that much to us or that time with family is priceless.  What are you willing to sacrifice for your ensemble?