Is "hard work" really necessary?

46 replies
I frequently see people talk about success as if it's something to struggle through to achieve. That success comes only through blood, sweat, and tears.

It's a really popular point of view here on the WF.

Even though it may make me unpopular for saying this, I don't think it's necessarily true.

Some of you are already thinking of a flame response, but hear me out before you drop the axe.

Sure, you can achieve great success by working your ass off. But it's not a prerequisite.

I do agree that taking action is necessary and needs to be consistent. But I don't agree that work needs to be hard, just for the sake of being hard.

I think as a society we tend to place too high a value on personal sacrifice. Maybe it's because of our predominantly Christian values. (I was born and baptized in a strict Catholic family, so I'm not knocking Christianity. I just know mentality.)

But life experience and personal mentors keep handing me advice that is contradictory to this idea.

Let me show you what I'm talking about...

My very first personal hero - still one of my biggest - is my father. He had a dream of becoming a multimillionaire in his home country of the Philippines. He would tell me that this was his dream as a child and knew that it would someday would be true. Just as he was certain the sun would rise the next day.

He grew up in the poorest of situations. For example, to get clean drinking water every morning he would boil water from a mosquito infested well. He didn't have a refrigerator. He didn't have a TV. In fact, his home didn't even have a floor. It was just dirt.

To make a long story short. My father became an electrical engineer and found a way to move to the U.S.. Started his own business and invested in real estate. His goal is accomplished and now he's retired and living in luxury back in his home country.

The one piece of advice that he always tried to pound into my head was, "Don't work hard. Work smart."

Being an outstanding mathematician, he was obsessed with efficiency and simplifying formulas. So I think that what he leaned towards.

Fast forward decades later. I'm now in college, studying computer science.

One of my favorite teachers told me something prolific. He said that the laziest programmers make the best programmers. He said that the best programmers are always searching for ways to make things easier.

This again meant always being on the hunt for simplicity and efficiency.

Fast forward again to just a few years ago. I'm reading Tim Ferriss's book, The 4 Hour Workweek. Almost the entire book is devoted to building systems for minimizing personal effort, while still maximizing profits and output.

This book still sits comfortably on the NY times best sellers list. It has been for years!

Many other books in this genre repeat the acronym K.I.S.S. like it's gospel.

I also, practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ for short. For those of you who aren't familiar, it has been called the most effective martial art style every created. The entire principal of BJJ is based off of using technique and leverage to overcome a larger, stronger, faster, and more athletic person.

From personal experience, using too much muscle in a fight - instead of skill - usually ends up with you getting your butt kicked.

This translates to anything in life.

From my point of view...

Muscle and brute force = hard work.

Technique, skill, and leverage = smart work.

Smart Work > Hard Work.

This is why I like the 80/20 principal so much. It cuts through all the bullsh#t and minimizes your effort while at the same time increases the value of your output.

I realize that I could just be playing with semantics. To some people, hard work and smart work aren't separate. If so, that's cool.

But if you're one of those that defines your worth by personal sacrifice, maybe it's time to rethink that.

Life should be challenging, but in a fun way. Like video games or picking up girls (or boys). Life should be filled with eustress. And we should always keep distress to a minimum.

It shouldn't be this upstream swim until you die. We're human beings. The rulers of this planet. Not brainless salmon.

Thoughts?
#hard work
  • Profile picture of the author dmeirx
    it is a great writing Jeffbut i think it should be like that work hard but smart, i am one of the guys who is always triying to find better chances and making things not hard but smart. and i am happy to read your writing.
    also i made a WSO about this main idea. You can check it from my signature. i think you will aslo like it. Because it is all about what you are saying.
    Have a great day.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mousumi
    Agree that Smart work outdoes the hardwork...But then again only Smart work is not good enough...even the smartest work on the planet entails hard work, persistence and patience.
    If a coder spends the entire desk in front of the computer, he is actually putting in hard work...exerting pressure on his brain and burning calories :-)

    But then again, only hardwork doesn't ensure success.
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by Mousumi View Post

      Agree that Smart work outdoes the hardwork...But then again only Smart work is not good enough...even the smartest work on the planet entails hard work, persistence and patience.
      If a coder spends the entire desk in front of the computer, he is actually putting in hard work...exerting pressure on his brain and burning calories :-)

      But then again, only hardwork doesn't ensure success.
      I think there may be a semantics issue here.

      I'm not against taking action and putting in action. In fact I'm a true believer that you need a lot of it.

      I probably work on my business 12+ hours per day. But I don't consider it hard.

      To me, hard work is work that you don't like doing. Hence the label "hard." If you love what you do, I don't consider it hard.

      I'll expand on my video game analogy...

      Video games can be extremely challenging. But people push through because it's fun. Some people play until it kills them...

      Literally.

      They can't wait to get to the next level. They crave the achievement. They crave the challenge.

      But no one considers this type of challenge as hard work.

      I'm also all about effectiveness. I'm always asking myself, "Is there an easier way to do this?" And there usually is.

      Always searching for an easier way, flies in the face of conventional "elbow grease" thinking.

      But it's how innovation works. Innovators find a way to make life easier.

      For example, someone once thought that sending emails manually was too much hard work. So they invented the autoresponder. Now internet marketers' lives across the globe are much easier AND much more profitable.
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      • Profile picture of the author Amandasimmons
        Hahaha....I love the way you play with words

        I agree with you....the term 'hardwork' has several connotations; on the other hand, 'smartwork' entails 'hardwork' but not in generic sense....I'm lost of words, I wish I had attended mathematics classes at school


        Originally Posted by jjbalagosa View Post

        I think there may be a semantics issue here.

        I'm not against taking action and putting in action. In fact I'm a true believer that you need a lot of it.

        I probably work on my business 12+ hours per day. But I don't consider it hard.

        To me, hard work is work that you don't like doing. Hence the label "hard." If you love what you do, I don't consider it hard.

        I'll expand on my video game analogy...

        Video games can be extremely challenging. But people push through because it's fun. Some people play until it kills them...

        Literally.

        They can't wait to get to the next level. They crave the achievement. They crave the challenge.

        But no one considers this type of challenge as hard work.

        I'm also all about effectiveness. I'm always asking myself, "Is there an easier way to do this?" And there usually is.

        Always searching for an easier way, flies in the face of conventional "elbow grease" thinking.

        But it's how innovation works. Innovators find a way to make life easier.

        For example, someone once thought that sending emails manually was too much hard work. So they invented the autoresponder. Now internet marketers' lives across the globe are much easier AND much more profitable.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6981687].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
          Originally Posted by Amandasimmons View Post

          Hahaha....I love the way you play with words

          I agree with you....the term 'hardwork' has several connotations; on the other hand, 'smartwork' entails 'hardwork' but not in generic sense....I'm lost of words, I wish I had attended mathematics classes at school
          This also made me ! Thanks!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6984860].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Amandasimmons
        I understand your point Jeff!!

        Thanks for broadening my horizon

        Originally Posted by jjbalagosa View Post

        I think there may be a semantics issue here.

        I'm not against taking action and putting in action. In fact I'm a true believer that you need a lot of it.

        I probably work on my business 12+ hours per day. But I don't consider it hard.

        To me, hard work is work that you don't like doing. Hence the label "hard." If you love what you do, I don't consider it hard.

        I'll expand on my video game analogy...

        Video games can be extremely challenging. But people push through because it's fun. Some people play until it kills them...

        Literally.

        They can't wait to get to the next level. They crave the achievement. They crave the challenge.

        But no one considers this type of challenge as hard work.

        I'm also all about effectiveness. I'm always asking myself, "Is there an easier way to do this?" And there usually is.

        Always searching for an easier way, flies in the face of conventional "elbow grease" thinking.

        But it's how innovation works. Innovators find a way to make life easier.

        For example, someone once thought that sending emails manually was too much hard work. So they invented the autoresponder. Now internet marketers' lives across the globe are much easier AND much more profitable.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6982325].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Corey Geer
      Originally Posted by jjbalagosa View Post

      I frequently see people talk about success as if it's something to struggle through to achieve. That success comes only through blood, sweat, and tears.

      It's a really popular point of view here on the WF.

      Even though it may make me unpopular for saying this, I don't think it's necessarily true.

      Some of you are already thinking of a flame response, but hear me out before you drop the axe.

      Sure, you can achieve great success by working your ass off. But it's not a prerequisite.

      I do agree that taking action is necessary and needs to be consistent. But I don't agree that work needs to be hard, just for the sake of being hard.

      I think as a society we tend to place too high a value on personal sacrifice. Maybe it's because of our predominantly Christian values. (I was born and baptized in a strict Catholic family, so I'm not knocking Christianity. I just know mentality.)

      But life experience and personal mentors keep handing me advice that is contradictory to this idea.

      Let me show you what I'm talking about...

      My very first personal hero - still one of my biggest - is my father. He had a dream of becoming a multimillionaire in his home country of the Philippines. He would tell me that this was his dream as a child and knew that it would someday would be true. Just as he was certain the sun would rise the next day.

      He grew up in the poorest of situations. For example, to get clean drinking water every morning he would boil water from a mosquito infested well. He didn't have a refrigerator. He didn't have a TV. In fact, his home didn't even have a floor. It was just dirt.

      To make a long story short. My father became an electrical engineer and found a way to move to the U.S.. Started his own business and invested in real estate. His goal is accomplished and now he's retired and living in luxury back in his home country.

      The one piece of advice that he always tried to pound into my head was, "Don't work hard. Work smart."

      Being an outstanding mathematician, he was obsessed with efficiency and simplifying formulas. So I think that what he leaned towards.

      Fast forward decades later. I'm now in college, studying computer science.

      One of my favorite teachers told me something prolific. He said that the laziest programmers make the best programmers. He said that the best programmers are always searching for ways to make things easier.

      This again meant always being on the hunt for simplicity and efficiency.

      Fast forward again to just a few years ago. I'm reading Tim Ferriss's book, The 4 Hour Workweek. Almost the entire book is devoted to building systems for minimizing personal effort, while still maximizing profits and output.

      This book still sits comfortably on the NY times best sellers list. It has been for years!

      Many other books in this genre repeat the acronym K.I.S.S. like it's gospel.

      I also, practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ for short. For those of you who aren't familiar, it has been called the most effective martial art style every created. The entire principal of BJJ is based off of using technique and leverage to overcome a larger, stronger, faster, and more athletic person.

      From personal experience, using too much muscle in a fight - instead of skill - usually ends up with you getting your butt kicked.

      This translates to anything in life.

      From my point of view...

      Muscle and brute force = hard work.

      Technique, skill, and leverage = smart work.

      Smart Work > Hard Work.

      This is why I like the 80/20 principal so much. It cuts through all the bullsh#t and minimizes your effort while at the same time increases the value of your output.

      I realize that I could just be playing with semantics. To some people, hard work and smart work aren't separate. If so, that's cool.

      But if you're one of those that defines your worth by personal sacrifice, maybe it's time to rethink that.

      Life should be challenging, but in a fun way. Like video games or picking up girls (or boys). Life should be filled with eustress. And we should always keep distress to a minimum.

      It shouldn't be this upstream swim until you die. We're human beings. The rulers of this planet. Not brainless salmon.

      Thoughts?
      You see, hard work is I believe a driving factor behind a successful white hat business. There are so many things that must go into a successful business but on the same flip of the coin, how many people became rich out of luck?

      How many people had dumb luck that earned them major bank? There are $5 ideas that turned into million dollar ideas and $5 people who turned into millionaires overnight.

      Your definition of what hard work truly is also comes from the following factors:
      How passionate about what you're doing?
      Is this something you TRULY want to do? Or something you feel that you HAVE to do?

      You see, I believe hard work really isn't "hard" work when you're doing something you genuinely love. You should always work like you don't need the money but I also believe that smart doesn't always trump hard.

      There are a lot of people who think working smart is buying a WSO and making $500 every 30 minutes because of some "Revolutionary" new software they saw being sold. While some people believe working smart is outsourcing but then you have to worry about the quality coming back poorly depending upon who you outsource to.

      You can be successful in a lot of different ways, but it's all going to boil down to your level of dedication, your devotion or just pure dumb luck.

      Originally Posted by Mousumi View Post

      Agree that Smart work outdoes the hardwork...But then again only Smart work is not good enough...even the smartest work on the planet entails hard work, persistence and patience.
      If a coder spends the entire desk in front of the computer, he is actually putting in hard work...exerting pressure on his brain and burning calories :-)

      But then again, only hardwork doesn't ensure success.
      I know basic coding, and I wish there was a way to work smart and not hard when it comes to coding excluding outsourcing. Coding just sucks (in my opinion).

      It'll come down to people's definitions of what working smart is and what working hard is because surely, they're different for everyone and their perspective.

      Corey
      Signature

      Skype: Coreygeer319

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      • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wayne
        Originally Posted by Corey Geer View Post

        I know basic coding, and I wish there was a way to work smart and not hard when it comes to coding excluding outsourcing. Coding just sucks (in my opinion).
        There IS indeed! And when you are a coder (I am myself) you are the lucky one! Only imagine creating a software, selling it (as a WSO, for instance) and making money over and over again, only from this one single software. Isn't it a smart work?!
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    • Profile picture of the author MilkerFocus
      Originally Posted by Mousumi View Post

      Agree that Smart work outdoes the hardwork...But then again only Smart work is not good enough...even the smartest work on the planet entails hard work, persistence and patience.
      If a coder spends the entire desk in front of the computer, he is actually putting in hard work...exerting pressure on his brain and burning calories :-)

      But then again, only hardwork doesn't ensure success.
      Just agree with you.
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  • Profile picture of the author jape
    Great point! But I think your Dad and the programmers worked hard too before achieving success. It may seem to other people, and to them, that they're not working hard because they love what they do and enjoy it. But then again, 4 hours in front of a computer may be hard work for some.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wayne
    You are right as we should work smart, not hard. Actually, we do not want to work hard. That is our tendency. However, we cannot be lazy as well, we need to take action.

    Ironically, working smart may be equal to working hard. Imagine building passive income...
    First, you have to work hard: you need to build your website, you need to create a product, you need to do marketing, etc. (unless you have money to outsource all the steps, of course).
    However, if you did it right, you will see stream of cash flowing into your pocket, while you sleep or drink pina colada on the beach :p That is 'working smart'!

    Anyway, later you will probably start working hard again, to create more and more streams of money, which leads you to working smart, indeed. In the end you will be doing over and over the same. Rinse and Repeat...
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    Even working smart is hard work. The harder I work the easier it gets. Noone gets through life without bumps on the road. Well there are exceptions but those exceptions aren't the rule. Granted working smarter might earn you greater rewards, but, it don't make life easier. Creating systems are hard even when you stand on the shoulders of giants.

    The harder I work the easier it gets.
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  • Profile picture of the author faithyunn
    Sacrifice on the other hand is closely related to Hard work as in order to work real hard, one has to do some compromises. It again does not pinch, if you enjoy its being
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  • Profile picture of the author WarrenPeterson
    This is one of those 'rules' or phrases we often here that I don't associate too much with. Smart is not an opposite of hard. The implication is that smart work = easy work (i.e. only work 4 hours a week) and/or hard work = dumb work. That disconnect is why I tend to not use that language.

    I'd be willing to bet that if someone like Inc, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Success, etc... took the time to perform an official analysis, that there are far more self-described hard working millionaires than there are smart working millionaires. I don't even think it would be close, it would be a large multiple of hard work over smart work.

    I prefer not to thing of the question as working hard versus working smart. I prefer to consider the question of What are you working on to advance your position in life. I could work as hard as possible on the wrong thing, and it won't change my position in life. I could also work as smart as possible on the wrong thing, and it also won't change my position in life.

    We can say that figuring out the what is the same as working smarter, but that in and of itself, for most people, is a level beyond hard work.

    Even after you figure out what the smart work is, you still have to do the hard work to make what you figured out become a reality. That will continue to be hard work, until you have repeated it often enough that it leaves the hard work level.

    And for most, you will not be satisfied to stay there. You will begin the cycle over again, only with different priorities, goals, and experiences.

    A gentlemen I was coaching a while back was a really great home builder. He had figured it out and done very well (yes, this was prior to the bubble bursting). His next step became to purchase a few hundred acres and develop an entire subdivision. An entire new world of work, new challenges, and new obstacles came with that new goal.

    So unless you (the general you, do not me the OP) are willing to simply figure out one thing and then stay at that level, there will always be the hard work of identifying what the next level of smart work is, and then the even increasing hard work of implementation.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulastromile
    Smart work + Hardwork = Masterpiece. Some say lazy people are smart workers, because they always find a way to make work much more easier.
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
      Originally Posted by paulastromile View Post

      Smart work + Hardwork = Masterpiece. Some say lazy people are smart workers, because they always find a way to make work much more easier.
      Good post.

      A combo of hard and smart is where it's at since being smart involves filling your time with productivity.

      Daniel
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Gray
    "hard work" doesn't mean laboring 24 hr a day. "hard work" is to stick your goal until you succeed.
    In "smart work" you do the same. You continuously focus on your work till you achieve your goal.
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    • Profile picture of the author MarkJa
      Very good one!
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert M Gouge
    The amount of people in this thread who are missing the idea behind the original post makes me sad. You guys are really missing a great reminder from the OP.
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by Robert M Gouge View Post

      The amount of people in this thread who are missing the idea behind the original post makes me sad. You guys are really missing a great reminder from the OP.
      Thanks Robert. I was starting to feel sad too.

      But your reply cheered me up. There are a few here that really understood the post. And that's what matters.
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      • Profile picture of the author WarrenPeterson
        Originally Posted by jjbalagosa View Post

        Thanks Robert. I was starting to feel sad too.

        But your reply cheered me up. There are a few here that really understood the post. And that's what matters.
        What is to be sad about? I didn't see anything that would cause sadness. Perhaps there are some crossed lines of intent/meaning...
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  • Profile picture of the author sandra98
    You make a great point. I agree. Working hard without working smart (skill, leverage, technique) can be a path of difficulty if not impossibility to get to your goal.

    I've heard it say that the same advice given to one person can be good, but to another, it just doesn't work. Maybe we just need to ponder on what working smart means in our career/business and see if there is enough of it. For some people, working hard may be the missing ingredient.

    If you are in your own business and need to develop profitable business models, working smart goes a long way. In a lot of jobs or in school, working hard is sufficient to get you to a reasonable performance level. Wishing everyone success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthony Gibson
    If you are truly passionate about it, it isn't even "work." A lot has to go into online success, it's unavoidable, mistakes, spinning your wheels, jumping from product to product are all unavoidable though I agree.
    Brian Tracy: "There's nothing worse than doing something efficiently that need not be done at all." As humans we are inherently lazy, and we can harness that lazyness to work smarter and harder for short bursts to experience longer stretches of relaxation.
    Awesome thread Jeff!

    Anthony
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by Anthony Gibson View Post

      Brian Tracy: "There's nothing worse than doing something efficiently that need not be done at all."
      I love it! It's like we're always on the same wavelength brother.

      Tim Ferris talks along the same lines. I like using the term effective over efficient when I can.

      Again it's why, the Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) is something that I'll take to the grave. I'm always trying to cut the fat out of life. I'm always searching for that 8 out of 10 things I'm doing through my day that are just wasting time.
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      • Profile picture of the author Anthony Gibson
        Originally Posted by jjbalagosa View Post

        I love it! It's like we're always on the same wavelength brother.

        Tim Ferris talks along the same lines. I like using the term effective over efficient when I can.

        Again it's why, the Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) is something that I'll take to the grave. I'm always trying to cut the fat out of life. I'm always searching for that 8 out of 10 things I'm doing through my day that are just wasting time.
        One of the most life-changing discoveries I've made so far is definitely the pareto principle! Same wavelength indeed!

        Anthony
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        • Profile picture of the author Jon Sullivan
          Working smarter is really important.

          But at the same time I think it comes down to maximizing what is done with the time available.

          I devote as much time to learning right now as I can, unfortunately I have to devote a lot of time to the work required to have the roof over my head.
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  • Profile picture of the author rising_sun
    Banned
    1000 times essential,
    without it no one can get anything taught by the history.
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  • Profile picture of the author asadulhaq
    For me, Hard work is Hard fun, because I love what I do ! You assumed that everyone hate what they do, and they only do It for money . But It's not the case with many people like me
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    • Profile picture of the author redfiredsoul
      Originally Posted by asadulhaq View Post

      For me, Hard work is Hard fun, because I love what I do ! You assumed that everyone hate what they do, and they only do It for money . But It's not the case with many people like me
      I agree 100 %. Couldn't say it any better.
      Signature

      Won´t stop til its over. Won´t stop to surrender.
      Find your strength in love.

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  • Profile picture of the author 3dy
    Smart work is hard work too, you know?

    Also, there are many times when I wish I just worked my ass off rather than thought for long about something, and I'm still sure it would have ended up better in most cases.
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by 3dy View Post

      Smart work is hard work too, you know?

      Also, there are many times when I wish I just worked my ass off rather than thought for long about something, and I'm still sure it would have ended up better in most cases.
      Smart work CAN BE hard work. It doesn't have to be.

      Look at my example on email autoresponders. If hard work was the answer, then we all should be sending emails manually.

      We all should be selling door to door instead of sending traffic to a landing page. The internet's biggest triumph is that it makes life easier.

      I hope people understand that I am NOT advocating that you don't put in work. (Either I didn't make that clear enough in the OP or people aren't really reading my post.)

      I'm actually a big fan of work.

      Let me paint a better picture...
      • My typical day starts at 6:00 AM. And I only take Sundays off.
      • 10 - 12 hours of work. This includes promoting my sites, creating content, managing my ebay business, managing my wife's marketing & IT infrastructure for her insurance agency, and some freelance copywriting every now and then.
      • 2 hours of Jiu Jitsu
      • While I do that, I still find time to squeeze in being a good husband and father.
      • I try my best to get to sleep at midnight to 1am. I try not to sleep more than 5 - 6 hours. I found it's the optimum amount of sleep my body needs to handle my days. And I get more work done this way.
      On top of these..
      • I create info products
      • I read at least 1 book a week
      • I worked my way through college to have 2 degrees (an IT degree and a Business Degree)
      I work A LOT. But I'll never consider it hard work.

      2 reasons.

      I constantly use systems to automate as much as possible. And I try to focus as much as I can on the stuff that's fun for me. The more my mind considers it play, the better my chances of not burning out and building resentment towards life.

      As Anthony beautifully stated above:

      As humans we are inherently lazy...
      Hard work, is unsustainable long term. You either need a better way of looking at work or find systems that make work easier. I try to incorporate both.
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    I love the feedback in this thread it actually has broaden my thinking for the day.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tinderet
    for me hard work = legal work and easy work= illegal work
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by Tinderet View Post

      for me hard work = legal work and easy work= illegal work
      Really?

      Read biographies on mob bosses and drug lords. Read about the deaths involved and how it is to constantly live under the threat of going to prison. Then come back and tell me that stuff is "easy."

      In my opinion, it is MUCH easier to make money legally.
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Great writing! very well said and excellent responses. I agree with the concept. You need to work smart and leverage others. At the same time you must continue to work hard on yourself to be persistent in getting better on a daily basis.

    Achieve a balance.

    -Will
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  • Profile picture of the author rajeshme
    Smart work is the quality and hard work is the quantity. You multiply it to see the total result. One is not a replacement for the other.
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  • Profile picture of the author WarriorFormula
    jjbalagosa, in most cases it is true. You need to work hard to achieve something.

    But, there are exceptions, as always. You can be born as Paris Hilton or someone similar, have lots of money and not worry at all about anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nurmz
    I agree with your point. Smart work does out do hard work. We need a little bit of each. It comes together like a whole.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    If the work I do is hard, but I enjoy it, then it's perhaps more play than work.
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  • Profile picture of the author seoexperttools
    Agree with the above comment. It is not about working hard but about how you can efficiently maximize the amount of work done within a specific time.
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  • Profile picture of the author FIP
    jjbalagosa

    I agree with your sentiment. The ethos is often work hard work long claw your way to success.....

    The underlying energy to that is one of struggle. And like yourself perhaps, i don't subscribe to the struggle mindset either.

    Struggle often is a result of not following your true dream/lifestyle or aligning to who it is you are.

    So if you are one of those people who is struggling (and i'm not talking about moving through challenges or a challenging situation) then perhaps you need to start asking yourself - why am I struggling and am I on the right path in life?
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    "If one advances confidently in the direction of his own dreams and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined - he will meet a success unexpected in common hours"
    -Thoreau

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  • Profile picture of the author WF99
    I think hard work in the perfect time is necessary to shine in life ...
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  • Profile picture of the author therenegadeleader
    Both are important, you have to be smart in order to determine what to do and hardwork to make success faster.
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  • Profile picture of the author BradGibson
    There is no substitute for hard work.” -Thomas Edison
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    • Profile picture of the author jjbalagosa
      Originally Posted by BradGibson View Post

      There is no substitute for hard work.” -Thomas Edison
      Edison is a great example of perseverance. I wholeheartedly believe in never giving up on your goals.

      With that said, I don't think struggling through 1,000 failures (like he did) is necessary to reach success. In fact, with the technology and resources we have available today, I believe Edison could produce something just as ground breaking in less than half the time (and with less than half the effort).

      Sir, I am not convinced. :p
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  • Profile picture of the author dmarseller
    Hi all,

    The rule of 80/20 for me does not work. I think to reach a goal you must work hard but loving what you are doing. For me, the work is the only way to reach my goals.


    Regards!
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