You did everything right.
So why does it still feel wrong?

You chased meaning.
You chose purpose over comfort.
You walked away from safety - again and again - because something inside you refused to settle.

And yet…
instead of clarity, you found confusion.
Instead of freedom, you found pressure.
Instead of fulfilment, you found exhaustion.

This book is for people like you.

The Cost of Having a Dream is not a motivational manual.
It doesn’t tell you to “hustle harder” or “believe more.”

It tells the truth most books avoid:

* Purpose-driven people often struggle more - not less.
* Alignment comes at a cost before it becomes a reward.
* Restlessness is not a flaw - it’s a signal.

Through deeply personal stories spanning corporate careers, entrepreneurship, failure, exits, self-doubt, and reinvention across India and the Middle East, Shajin Mohamed explores what happens when your inner compass refuses to follow conventional success paths.

You’ll walk with him through:

Leaving “perfect” jobs that felt lifeless

Walking away from money that couldn’t buy engagement

Proving capability - and still losing interest

Confusing growth with movement

Mistaking restlessness for brokenness

And finally, learning to listen instead of suppressing the signal

This is not a book about finding your dream.

It’s a book about understanding the hidden cost of chasing one -
and discovering the sweet spot where purpose, performance, and peace finally align.

This book is for you if:
You’ve had success, but it never fully satisfied you

You’ve felt guilty for wanting more - even when life looked “good”

You thrive during growth but suffocate during maintenance

You’ve questioned whether staying true to yourself will cost you everything

You’re tired of blaming yourself for patterns you don’t yet understand

This book won’t give you all the answers.

But it will give you something far more powerful:

Relief.
Language.
Clarity.
And permission to stop seeing yourself as the problem.

Because sometimes, the most expensive thing you can do
is ignore what your restlessness is trying to tell you.