I totally agree with you, they take the same effort at the beginning. Because of that, I think a lot of people figure they might as well swing for the fences.
I think the point is that it's fine to swing for the fences, just make sure you don't skip other 'lifestyle' opportunities in the mean time. You may never get your homerun pitch, nothing wrong with a base hit. You watch enough pitches go by, you end up striking out.