Learning How to Work Smart – Not Just Hard!

Many of us fall into the trap of believing that becoming successful will require a lot of hard work. While hard work can be good for us, too much of it can create the opposite effect we’re going for. Think about it: we crave fulfilling work because we want to enjoy our daily lives, not feel exhausted or bored. Taking hard work to the extreme only holds us back, personally and professionally.
Contrary to what you may have been taught, hard work alone has little (if nothing) to do with success. Think about people who are working long hours at low-paying jobs every day.  Are they becoming successful because of their hard work? Or are they simply scraping by, paycheck to paycheck – as so many of us do?
Simply working hard is not the answer to becoming successful. Working steadily in a FOCUSED direction is. That’s why I led you through all that “identifying your talents” stuff at the beginning of this chapter. If you don’t know what you’re working toward, you will be spinning your wheels no matter how hard you work.
Once you know your objective (passionate, fulfilling work that contributes value to the world), it is easy to come up with focused action steps that will make it a reality.
Working hard in THAT context can be extremely effective. You know where you’re going, you know exactly what to do to get there, and all you need is the discipline and determination to see it through.
We’ll explore taking action more completely in a later chapter.