“Before a man can achieve anything, even in worldly things, he must lift his thoughts above slavish animal indulgence. He may not, in order to succeed, give up all animality and selfishness, by any means; but a portion of it must, at least, be sacrificed.”
This one builds directly on the previous passage, but now Allen introduces sacrifice.
“Before a man can achieve anything…”
Allen is making another sweeping statement, but notice that he’s now talking about what must happen before achievement.
Achievement has a price.
Before you can obtain something you don’t currently have, there is usually something about your current behavior that has to change. You can’t necessarily keep every habit, every comfort, every pleasure, every use of your time exactly as it is while simultaneously expecting a substantially different life.
Something has to give.
“…even in worldly things…”
By “worldly things,” Allen appears to be distinguishing ordinary material achievement from higher moral or spiritual development.
He’s basically saying: I’m not even talking about becoming some perfectly enlightened human being yet.
Even if you simply want a better career, more money, education, a successful business, a skill, or another tangible accomplishment, some control over your impulses is required.
That’s where the next phrase matters.
“…he must lift his thoughts above slavish animal indulgence.”
The language is old-fashioned and harsh, but “slavish animal indulgence” seems to describe being ruled by appetite and immediate gratification.
In modern language:
I want what feels good right now, regardless of what I said I wanted long-term.
Sleep instead of getting up.
Spend instead of save.
Scroll instead of study.
Quit because something became uncomfortable.
Eat whatever you want despite a health goal.
Avoid the difficult conversation because avoidance feels easier.
The problem isn’t pleasure itself. The problem is when appetite becomes master and purpose becomes servant.
That connects directly with achievement.
“…but a portion of it must, at least, be sacrificed.”
And THIS might be the most practical part of the passage.
Allen surprisingly doesn’t say you must become perfect.
In fact, he explicitly says you don’t have to eliminate all selfishness or indulgence before you can succeed.
You have to sacrifice enough of it.
That makes his argument much more realistic.
Want the degree? Some free time gets sacrificed.
Want to build the business? Some comfort gets sacrificed.
Want better health? Some immediate gratification gets sacrificed.
Want financial stability? Some spending today may have to be sacrificed for tomorrow.
But I would add an important distinction: sacrifice is not the same as destroying yourself.
You don’t prove commitment by eliminating sleep, relationships, recreation, recovery, or everything you enjoy. Sustainable achievement requires deciding which comforts interfere with the goal and which ones actually support your ability to pursue it.
That’s where I think Allen’s principle becomes extremely useful:
Achievement doesn’t require you to stop enjoying life. It requires you to become capable of choosing a larger purpose over immediate gratification when the two come into conflict.
And there’s an even simpler way to say it:
You don’t have to sacrifice everything to achieve something—but you probably can’t achieve something meaningful without sacrificing anything.