If we work hard, we get what we deserve.
This is what we’re told, right?
Sure thing, and it’s been drummed down our throats our entire life.
The thing is though, it isn’t true.
Just because you work hard doesn’t mean you get what you want.
Just because you put in the effort doesn’t mean you get the outcome.
It sucks, but it’s true.
This is life, and there ain’t damn thing you can do about it.
Now, you can increase your chances of success by putting in the hard work. After all, you can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.
But just because you buy ticket doesn’t mean you will win.
Yet this is how we approach work and life.
If we work hard (aka: buy the ticket) we get the reward (aka: the BIG prize).
NO!
This is not the case, and although it’d a nice thought that those who work hardest get what they want, it’s a myth.
It isn’t though who work hard that win, rather those that work ‘smart’.
And this is what that damn work #HUSTLE comes into play.
Because in recent years, the millennial species in particular has become obsessed with hustling.
It’s worn as a badge of honour, as if working an eighteen hour day is the best thing ever.
… as if negating sleep and your health is a good thing.
… as though hard work is all that you need.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are time you NEED to hustle.
That deadline approaches, or that great opportunity comes along, and you have to do what you have to do.
Likewise, if you want to get something off the ground, you have to get dirty; you have to do what needs to be done.
This often means picking up the phone, stepping out of your comfort zone, and putting in the hard graft.
Yet in times like these, you hustle because it helps you get to where you’re going.
Hustling in and of itself IS NOT the goal.
Yet this is how so many people see it.
This is how I used to see it.
In fact, I continue to feel guilty if I finish work at a certain time. If I happen to find a break in play, I ask myself “what could I do now?”
How stupid is this?
We work so we can live and enjoy the life we live.
A crazy fool like me who chooses to work for himself and negate so much security, does so with the notion of freedom in mind.
And there you get… a point in day when you’re free to sit back and breathe… and what do we do?
We beat ourselves up.
Dumb!
And I know you can relate right now, because I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t.
But those people at the top of their game… they have learned to push these silly thoughts to one side.
They don’t obsess over how hard they work…
They focus only on how ‘smart’ they work!
And this involves work; hard work.
It involves early starts and sometimes late finishes.
It involves doing what needs to be done.
BUT…
They never (ever) hustle for the sake of it.
They don’t wear it as a badge of honour.
They don’t glorify it.
And because of this, they are further along the path than most.
Because as most people are questioning whether they have or have not worked hard enough today, they are living life.
They are taking care of their health and wellbeing.
They are enjoying time with those they love.
They are coming up with new ideas because they can.
And they can, because they aren’t caught up in the #hustle.
So whether you work four, fourteen, or twenty-fours hours, I DO NOT care.
You are not how hard you work. You are not the outcome at the end of it. You are a human being with a dream and an ability, and this is it.
You have no assurances or guarantees.
Everything you have can be taken away from you.
All you can do it put your best foot forward, and this is not measured by how hard you work. It’s measured by how SMART you work.
So stop placing the act of hustling on some pedestal.
It doesn’t matter.
It’s a means to an end. That’s it.
Hustling will get you places, but it won’t get you to where you want to be. And if you think it will, I fear you will forever chase your own shadow.
Breathe.
Take it in.
Live your life.
Don’t ask how hard you can work today, or even how hard you have worked today.
Instead, ask what impact have I had…
This is smart. This is the secret.
