The shortcut
I am constantly surprised by people who try and do less and achieve more. Those who try to find a life hack that will somehow allow them to cheat the system or avoid actually doing the work. Here is the real hack, and the MOST powerful line I have read in years: “Doing the work IS the shortcut!”
I am sorry to say that shortcuts rarely get you ahead in the long run. Please don’t get me wrong, I have at times found a new way to do things; ways to get something done a bit more efficiently. At the end of the day though I still have to do the work.
I remember sitting in an office at Jostens Canada talking with one of their high-up execs. He told this younger version of me not to buy cheap things. He said, “If you want a couch, save up and buy the best couch you can. Even if you have to sit on the floor with pillows for a year. If you buy cheap things, you will start by buying three or four bad versions of it, creating landfill, and end up buying the better thing in the end. You will also have spent two or three times more then the original price would have been.”
There are so many examples of hard work paying off. If you follow hockey, the Las Vegas Golden Knights are a perfect example of a team made up of hard workers: Grinders, dreamers, and go-getters. Organizations often think they can build a winning team around one superstar player; that the next big draft pick will be THE answer. The Edmonton Oilers have had three straight first round draft picks, but yet NO Stanley Cups since.
When you have an attitude of hard work that includes early hours and late nights, and getting up when you fall down, you will find yourself closer to real success than any shortcut can bring you.
This is a great reminder to those graduating high school; there are tens of thousands of hopeful graduates wanting to make their dream a reality. The people who stand out are the ones who work harder, get their hands dirty, and wake up with a fire in their bellies.
So, when you are searching for the next quick fix app for your phone or when someone sells you a webinar or live feed that will give you all the answers, hacks or cheat codes… be careful. Nine times out of ten you have wasted your time and money; ironically the exact thing you were trying to avoid in the first place.
Just work hard.
Here is a final quote to ponder when faced with hard work:
“Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world. A few do not. Join them.”
Arthur Schopenhauer
In leadership,
