There tend to be 2 camps of people –
1. The camp that tells you to WORK HARD!
2. And the camp that tells you to WORK SMART, NOT HARD!
But my questions is…
Why can’t it be both? I mean, they both have their benefits, don’t you think? Let’s explore and then you can tell me what you believe.
BENEFITS OF WORKING HARD:
- Hard work gets noticed, bringing you more attention.
- Hard work builds character. You learn DISCIPLINE, which is one huge key to success.
- Hard works gives you an advantage. People can be smarter than you, but they can’t outwork you if you’re hustling hard all the time.
- Hard work gives you confidence. You KNOW you’re good at what you do.
- Hard work makes it easier for you to express gratitude because you know what it’s like to struggle and then succeed.
- Hard work forces you to improve yourself and your skill set, which leads to more success.
BENEFITS OF WORKING SMART:
- Smart work typically allows you to earn more money. (If you are SMART about it!)
- Smart work teaches you how to delegate more and create a team that help you to grow quickly.
- Smart work allows you to work less and to drop altogether the tasks you hate doing, but need to be done.
- Smart work gives you more freedom to spend your time the way you want.
- Smart work forces you to prioritize the important, revenue-generating tasks over the other “fluff”.
- Smart work has you getting way more done in much less time.
This all sounds well and good, but there’s one thing that is so GLARGINGLY obvious it kind of shocks me that no one has talked about this before –
What if we just worked hard AND smart, both at the same time?
By doing so, we would gain all the benefits of hard work as well as smart work instead of just the benefits from doing one or the other.
The other thing to realize is that one’s definition of the term “hard work” likely differs from the next person who shares their definition. In other words: IT’S ALL RELATIVE.
What if working hard WAS smart? (FYI: It is.)
Those people that preach working smarter over harder are some of the hardest workers I know. The bust their ass day in and day out. The difference? Is that they ALSO have a team of people helping them. They enjoy more luxuries (think: private chef, personal trainer, etc.).
So, –
If you had a team of people working for you, don’t you think you’d be better off?
Don’t you think you’d have more time and more freedom?
Don’t you think you’d make more money?
OF COURSE the answer is YES. Yes you WOULD have those benefits!
But you know what else you’d have?
More work to do. Not because you HAD to do it. But because you will want MORE of your good fortune. You will want to help more people. You will want to feel as incredible as you do ALL the time, and you will want other people to feel the same way.
So you will continue to hustle. You will continue to “work hard”. All the while, you’re working smart by employing a team of people to help you grow.
I take a look at those who preach “work smart, don’t work hard” and I just shake my head, because they are ALL working hard. They are ALWAYS working. But what they have figured out (or maybe they’re clueless to it, I don’t know, but it’s what I see!) is how to monetize their life.
Meaning:
EVERYTHING THEY DO IS WORK.
Waking up is work.
Taking a picture of their breakfast and sharing it on Instagram is work.
Going for a walk is work.
Checking their email is work.
Shooting a 60 second video on something that lights them up is work.
Having a conversation with a friend is work.
IT’S ALL WORK.
Which means –
They ARE in fact, working hard. It just doesn’t FEEL like hard work to them because they haven’t realized that what they’re selling is not their knowledge, but THEM. Their life. Their thoughts. Their beliefs.
And that, is the smartest thing of all. 😉
Don’t forget –
You really can be, do and have EVERYTHING you want. Take action now!