Working Hard to be Successful

I realized last night that I had passed my 8 year anniversary of this blog. In the past I had mentioned it in some way or talked about it and this year I didn’t. No biggie. I was too busy doing other things that mattered more than patting myself on the back and I’m good with it. Realizing that it had been eight years did make me a little reflective though.

People ask me all the time how I got to where I am and the answer is always the same, I’ve worked hard every day and it hasn’t been easy.

This usually gets a laugh or some other strange reaction that I have never understand. The concept of working hard to be successful seems foreign to so many people.

Why is it that in a world where the news breaks faster then lightning and anyone can publish and share anything they create, do people not appreciate the fact that it takes a lot of work and years of experience to be successful?

Sure, there are overnight hits and lucky breaks. Luck plays a lot into everyone’s career when you look back at decisions you’ve made and directions you’ve gone in. But, the most successful people in the world are the ones that work the hardest.

When I wrote my first blog post, I did it because it was the latest technology I wanted to check out. Before that I was active on Usenet and discussion forums. I had taught myself HTML while “on the beach” at my first job. I had been online since the first moment I found out about it and was always trying to figure out what more I could do.

What is the point of this post?

It is just to remind you that hard work is your best chance for success. Most of us who find any level of success are never satisfied and want the challenge of something new and we’ll work even harder to make it happen.

Don’t assume that anything will get handed to you or that someone had it handed to them. If you have dreams, goals and success that you want in your life then buckle down, plan it out and work your tail off trying to make it happen. Don’t ever wait for success to find you. If you do, you’ll be standing there for quite some time all alone.

That is what I wanted to share with you this morning.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 7:09 am and is filed under passion-hit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Seems like a simple and straight forward concept, hard work, but there are numerous other words that become the default when parents, fans, and spectators are praising someone for an awe-inspiring accomplishment.

    E.g. Talent, luck, some mysterious unique quality...

    The most heartwarming complement I would like to hear is "Boy, he sure worked hard."
  • Happy anniversary man!

    Thank YOU for creating so much amazing content. Reading your blog is both personally and professionally satisfying C.C.

    Keep up the great stuff!
  • Thank You for the constant support my friend. Having friends like you mean the world to me. But, you knew that :)
  • Indeed. Go get em C.C.!
  • I think sustainable success comes with hard work. There are people who are 'successful' because they manipulate others to work hard for them. I like to think that kind of success doesn't last long and karma catches up somewhere along the way.

    When we set realistic goals with clear steps to get us to the endpoint and then work hard to reach each step we are more likely to succeed.
  • Karma always comes back around. I fully believe that!
  • Gabi
    I have a hard time understanding people who don't want to work hard. I had a VP at a corporate job who would tell the story of a man who walked along the road, head down, shuffling his feet. There was a guy behind him who walked around, head up, aware of his surroundings. Both walked by a $20 bill, but the second guy noticed it and picked it up.

    Ethics of taking a random $20 aside, the point is: work hard at what you do. Yes, luck plays a role in success (and I'd argue that role could be small or quite large depending on what your definition of "success" really is). But if you're not putting yourself in the place to reach that success, what's the point?

    I would pose the following question to you CC:

    What's the role of managers when it comes to the "permission" to work hard? Is it a cop-out to say that there are those who are focused on politics and ego, effectively stifling the opportunities of their subordinates?
  • Great little story.

    I've been in situations where I've had managers that stifled me and others who have let me shine. It is tough because some people were never meant to be managers and others do really well at it.

    I always advise employees that if you are in a situation where you are being stifled to talk to the manager about it. This is NOT an easy conversation, but you've got to have it and if you can't things you might need to look for something new or break off on your own.

    Each situation is completely different so it is hard to give a straight forward answer.
  • DaddyBrad
    I believe that even the overnight success stories are built upon year's of hard work. The overnight part is just when people began to notice. Congrats Bro.
  • INDEED.
  • Chris H.
    It's important to remember that just because you attain some level of success, that's no reason to rest on your laurels and assume it's a free ride from there.

    Reach your goal, soak in the glory of it for a little while, then get back to work or before you know it, someone's knocked you off the top and you're stuck playing catch-up once more.
  • I agree and I think that is a trait of most successful people is that they always want the challenge of more. The thrill that accomplishing goals brings is a very addictive and fulfilling feeling.
  • "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson
  • What a great and PERFECT quote. Thanks for sharing it Tom. I'm certainly going to remember that one for future use.
  • Mark
    The funny thing about hard work is I think the toughest part about it is making it tougher in our heads that it really is.

    For example, I am relaunching my career as a marketing communications designer. I am constantly getting swept up in all I don't know & thinking I need to learn it in order to be an 'expert'. That has kept me from seeking clients, posting to a blog, etc.

    The point is I don't have a fear of hard work - I simply battle the confidence in the abilities I do possess & that has kept me stuck, from doing the work. I think that's the case with a lot of people.

    So going forward it's my hope that others (and myself for that matter...) remember the following:
    1.) No matter how much you study, there's always something new to learn - so don't let that stop you.

    2.) You know more than you think you know & that what others will pay you for.

    3.) Take big tasks & break them down into small actions you can do every day.

    4.) And like you said C.C. - don't go for perfect. You're better off doing the post half complete & let your audience fill in the gaps. That leads to discussions...

    Anyway, that's my $0.02 - What do you think?
  • I agree. You know I do based on some things I've said on http://www.managingthegray.com

    Too often we are the #1 reason we don't succeed.
  • Hard work and dedication do not always lead to success, though. Sometimes it just leads to being tired and cranky. ;)
  • I love you Matthew, but that is a pathetic reaction.

    I am not saying that hard work GUARANTEES success. What I'm saying is that if you want success you MUST work hard to get there.

    Some of the hardest working people I know (you included) have not reached the success that they want and they may never reach it. Life is a bitch like that and I hate it and is why I do everything I can to help you reach success.

    I know your just being snarky and I still love you. It is just comments like that which make me write posts like this.
  • Oh yes, snark indeed. It's difficult to convey sarcasm in text, even with emoticons.

    After all, I know plenty of successful people who don't work all that much and are still tired and cranky. ;)
  • I'm not sure how I feel about this. Though its true that most success comes from hard work, I think a lot of it also comes from the reflection to know what you want, what defines success for you, and having that endpoint in mind, and being able to adjust as reality shifts. I mean, factory workers work hard and grind away for 40 years and may not ever get anywhere near what their version of 'success' is.

    I'm just not sure that this is the kind of answer that is helpful to people, even to get them to realize that they have to work hard. It's kind of like being asked how to communicate online and being told "you have to talk to people".

    Happy anniversary, tho!
  • Thanks for this CC. The timing was perfect. I'm re-energized to KEEP working hard, my goals may be in the far distance, but looking behind me, I dont see a free ride coming. Looking forward.
  • While we would all like free rides they rarely happen so keep pushing!
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