Nothing is a Substitute for Hard Work. Nothing.

"I will never work as hard as you do."

That was me 25 years ago.

Talking to my father. 

My successful father.

He shook his head and sighed knowingly.

Amazing how time provides perspective.

It's not about Working Harder....

There is a lot written these days about how we don't need to work harder. Instead we need to......

...work smarter

...work faster

...work independently

...work collaboratively

...network more 

...listen more

...walk more

...dream more

...nap more
...cultivate our social media channels

...ignore the social media time-sucks....

But whatever the opinion of the moment, the general consensus is that working harder is not the solution.

It is TOTALLY about Working Harder!

You want the truth?

They are right when they say working harder is not the solution. What they should be saying is working harder is the gatekeeper to the solution. 

Put another way, if all the current opinions on how to work smarter are accelerators in the race to success, then hard work is the registrar to the race. 

And nobody gets to run if they don't sign up.

A Story

Years ago my wife and I bought the family business. It was a good business in a market with slim margins and tough competition. We made money by being honest, tough, fair and shrewd. 

And by working hard.

And then came 2007

We were invited to bid on a large contract outside of our niche. It came at a time when we needed work. But it came with some....wrinkles. 

Although riskier than we liked, the opportunity lined up with our long-term strategy. 

We went through our decision-making process with more rigor than usual. And when I was satisfied we had assessed all the risks I signed off on it.

My kingdom for a do-over. 

The project went straight into the tank. I had made one wrong decision and almost bankrupted the company in the process.

The next twelve months were spent working day and night trying to keep the ship afloat. 

Overhead was slashed.

I paid myself a fraction of what my employees took home. Every spare dollar went back into the business. 

Sometimes there is no Substitute

The year was a blur.

Many nights I slept in the boardroom on a row of chairs. I sacrificed everything: family, friends, sleep, health....

It was the only way to survive. But we did....just barely.

Hard Work is Inevitable

On the path to success hard work is inevitable. 

Hard work is necessary. 

Hard work is good. 

Hard work is what makes success taste so sweet. 

Let's face it: for every Tim Ferris working a 4-hour week, there are millions of people grinding their asses off to fight their way to success. Your chances of succeeding without working hard are smaller than winning the lottery.

"I will never work as hard as you do."

I recently reminded my dad about what I had said 25 years ago. He looked at me and laughed. Then he said this:

"How'd that work for you? You ended up working a lot harder than I ever did." 

And he gave me a hug. 

Luck favors the prepared, darling.

Sign up for the race.

Run.

With a bit of strategy, and a little luck, you will find your finish line.

But you gotta sign up.