Do You Work Hard?
“I work hard.” is the most overused phrase in the history of mankind. I received hundreds of resumes last year and every. single. one. said that they were a hard worker in some form or fashion. Stop saying you work hard and start letting your actions do the talking.
If you polled every single athlete in the history of athletes, asking: “Why do you deserve to make it to the pinnacle of your sport?” Inevitably, 99.9% would tell you, “Because I work hard.” This applies to the workforce as well.
There are 7.4 billion people in the world. So, there are about 7.3 billion hard workers out there. If everyone thinks they work hard, who actually works hard and what does that look like?
If you haven’t seen Will Smith’s video on work ethic, please listen to it after you finish this blog. (Watch it here.) I would like to reference a specific quote of his from the video:
“The difference between you and I is, I am not afraid to DIE ON A TREADMILL…If we are running next to each other on treadmills, either you’re gonna stop first or I am going to DIE on a treadmill.”
What he is saying is this: No matter what you do, I will have a frightening, incomparable willingness to compete until you quit or I flat out beat you.
Don’t compare where you are in your life to other people, but DO compare what you are willing to do to get there. Chances are, there is someone out there, somewhere that is working harder than you. And if they have ANY talent at all, they will inevitably overtake you.
Working hard is a relative term. Which means it needs to be measured against other people. Yes, I agree, you can only truly measure success internally. I need to be better than I was yesterday and that’s all I care about. But this is a separate topic. This isn’t about getting better or not getting better. This is about how quickly you are getting better. Remember, the entire human race is working hard. But, how productive are you actually being?
3 Steps to Make Sure that You are in the Upper Tier of the Hustlers Out There.
1. Wake Up One Hour Earlier.
If you are saying that you don’t have time to work out, start your business or be with your family, set your alarm just one hour earlier. Get up and get stuff done. That doesn’t mean that you have to work out at 6am if you don’t want to. However, think of it this way. If you clean up the house at 6am, that means you won’t have to do it tonight which means you can go to the gym. If you are worried about your sleep, you should be. I’ll talk about this in #3.
2. Be Around People Who are Already Where You Want to Be.
Take a look at your tribe. If they aren’t making you better, they’re making you worse. Be very selective about the people you are hanging out with. If you find yourself getting bored with the conversation easily or if you find yourself lowering your level of conversation to fit in, you need to find new friends or just go solo. Do internships, mentorships and visits to people that are already living your dream. Ask them their stories of grinding and observe the way that they work. Don’t be afraid of being alone. If you are vibrant enough, you will attract people naturally over time. The right people will show you new ways of working your ass off and climbing faster. The wrong people will create opportunities for you to develop a lazy mentality.
3. Stop Watching TV.
Yep. I said it. Look, if you are worried about waking up early, it’s probably because you go to sleep too late. If you are a student reading this and you are up late studying, fine. If you are not a student, chances are you are up late consuming some sort of media (TV, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, etc.). Put the phone down, turn off the TV and get some sleep. If you are saying, “I don’t have time.” Ask yourself, how much Grey’s Anatomy/Walking Dead have you watched in the past week? The average adult American consumes upwards of 33 hours of television per week. That’s a full time job! In case you’re wondering, Rachel consumes about 0.5 hours per week. On accident. When it’s in the background at a restaurant. Most of what is on TV is not educational and not making you better. Stop wasting your time there!
Trust me, if you’re waking up at 5:00AM, there is someone out there that is waking up at 4:30AM. Stop saying that you work hard and putting it on your resume.
In Summary, Nobody Cares, Work Harder,
Rachel
