Scenario 1)
Imagine someone is living a hard life because they have to save their income to invest in a very worthwhile field that can be very helpful in their future financially. You want to sympathize with them.
Or (at least in our language)
Scenario 2)
Imagine you want to sympathize a university student who is going through think and thin to achieve a degree at a very good college and in a good major which can guarantee some valuable job opportunities for them afterwards.
In the both cases above, one can use a multilateral proverb in our language which says: "You can pay your dues and enjoy the fruits of your labor for the rest of your life."
The only proverb which I found in a domestically written book, was:
- Short term pain for long term gain.
However, even if it works I doubt if it is something that sounds natural to an American.
I was wondering if you could help me with this case and let me know what is the best way to convey the massage in my question.
Best Answer
One proverb we use is "You reap what you sow." This proverb essentially says "If you do good things, good things will happen. If you do bad things, bad things will happen."
Another is "Hard work pays off" - this may be more appropriate in your second example, as it doesn't address investments.