Hard work isn’t the key to success
It seems like all of the entrepreneurial gurus and thought leaders have the same solution: work harder. But there’s a lot more to fulfillment, joy and success than just hard work. {Written by Jason}
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill
My Grandfather, Walter, was one of the hardest working human beings I’ve ever known. As the patriarch of my Mom’s side of the family, it was his work ethic and determination to always find a solution to things that inspired all of us to work harder and stick to what we believed in.
Grandpa was the kind of guy that had a way to fix any problem. You need a lug nut for a 1981 LeBaron Convertible? He had it stashed in the basement. You want to find a way to repair a refrigerator without hand tools? We’ll use kitchen utensils, damn it. I think it was his relentless determination, hard work ethic and “never give up” attitude that gave birth to our unofficial family motto:
“WE’LL MAKE IT WORK!”
Fast forward to the present. Scrolling through social media feeds, it seems to be the cliche mantra of every business coach, entrepreneurial expert and motivational thought leader to say, “Hard work is the answer. Just keep grinding. Just keep hustling. It’ll pay off!” But I take umbrage with the constant beating of this oh-so-tired drum.
If hard work was the #1 answer to creating financial and/or career success, my Grandpa would’ve been a billionaire ten times over. His relentless work ethic, dedication to his family and sheer focus as an assembly line supervisor at Chrysler was immense. Did he create a good, secure life for him and his family? Absolutely. Did he amass an incredible amount of wealth, success or notoriety? Not at all. Thinking back on my Grandpa and the ethos he imparted upon all of us children, there’s no doubt that “work hard” has been a mantra that has served us well in our lives. But make no mistake, it’s not the ONLY thing that matters. Nor is it the difference maker that all of these self-proclaimed Internet gurus make it out to be. There’s a lot more to life than hard work.
Don’t get me wrong — slacking off, or being lazy, or holding yourself back with existential fear, or trying to simply wish your dreams into existence ain’t gonna make things happen for your business or career. But — the idea that we need to outwork everyone in the room, to grind ourselves into abject sickness or insomnia, to “win at all costs” is something that’s both myopic, dangerous and truly misleading.
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” — Gail Devers
Beyond working hard at something, you need a vision, a dream, a roadmap, a plan that lays out the steps of growth and evolution for your business. You need to find a compelling emotional anchor that carries you through the moments that you want to give up (and you WILL want to give up at many points!) You need to be able to understand financial management and how profits and loss affect your bottom line.
You need to learn how to delegate responsibility to other people you trust. You need to manage expectations in a world where everyone seems to be getting rich from their online courses. You need to learn how to play the long game. You need to learn how to survive disappointment and rise from the ashes of failure to try again. You need to learn how to take breaks and create a self-care regimen for yourself.
There are literally dozens of other practices that you can employ beyond “work harder” to create success, fulfillment and prosperity in your life and business. So don’t be lured into the simplistic, pedantic mantra that it’s the only thing that matters. Yes, it does matter, but so does keeping your personal life intact, your family relationships strong and your own health thriving. Success, money and growth are not the ONLY things that matter in this lifetime. Don’t be fooled by the lure of material abundance at the expense of watching the rest of your life collapse around you.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” — Calvin Coolidge
By creating your OWN definitions of success and fulfillment, you can create your personal metrics that help you gauge those things. Stop listening to other people trying to tell you what your bank account should look like, or that you need to 10x your business in the next 12 months, or that you need to have a Porsche in the garage, or any other arbitrary markers of culturally-indoctrinated material success.
Define what success really means to you, set some goals and remember that there’s no finish line in this game. The REAL game is who you become in the process of creating a business, living your dreams or creating something that’s never been seen in the world before. The person you become is the real game within the game. There are hidden layers to this experience that you need to be aware of. It’s the game of becoming who you truly are and discovering your unique gifts and talents that will bring goodness to the world.
So remember to relax, have some fun, be relentlessly experimental, don’t take this shit too seriously and be dedicated to discovering all the layers of you are in this lifetime. The rest will fall into place exactly as it’s meant to.
“Ever tried, ever failed, no matter, try again, fail again, fail better. The world is yours. Treat everyone kindly, and light up the night.” — Samuel Beckett via Peter Dinklage
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This writing was originally posted on Wellevatr.com.
