When it Comes to Success, Less is Never More
"Average people
look for ways of getting away with it; successful people look for
ways of getting on
with it."
- Jim Rohn
(1930-2009)
Author/Speaker
Actor. Mike
Rowe, of the hit TV show, Dirty Jobs
and now, Someone's Gotta Do It, often
talked about what he called, "The worst advice in the world". Rowe tells how when he was in High School a
counselor showed him a poster hanging on the office wall. On one side was a picture a smiling guy, neat
and tidy in his cap and gown and on the other side, a sad faced, dirty laborer,
with the caption under them that read: "Work Smart Not Hard".
Mike Rowe has been an advocate
for the skilled trades and those who, as he puts it, work smart AND hard. Rowe said, "Hard work is its own reward,
and the willingness to get dirty is in short supply". I believe this is a key to all success. Yes, we do not all get "dirty" in
our pursuit of success. The point here
is not dirt, but the willingness to do what it takes to work hard and get the
job done. That is what is in short
supply.
We have developed a generation
who too easily believe that all the good things of life should be handed to
them. They have been tricked into
thinking that a good education alone will open the doors of success wide. Then, they find themselves with a stack of
degrees in their hands as they stand in the unemployment line. Mike Rowe also wisely stated, "We're lending
money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back, educating them for jobs that
no longer exist. I'm no expert, but I'd
say that's profoundly disconnected."
There is a real lie that is
going around that says you can avoid hard work.
You can, but you can also settle for a mediocre life with no fulfillment
of any of your dreams. People are always
trying to sell others on the idea that hard work is bad or it should be
avoided. We are told everything from and
education will get you a good job to you can earn a fortune in your spare
time. Where did this come from?
Here is the hard, cold fact: If
you want to succeed in life, you will have to work hard - maybe harder than you
ever thought you could work. Hard work
is not a bad thing but a very good thing.
Hard work develops character, integrity, a sense of value and confidence. Not to work hard is not smarter, it is out
and out stupid.
Why do so few really succeed in
life and achieve their dreams? It is
because so few are willing to work hard, stay at it and achieve. Education is good, but it is not a guarantee
of success. We should learn all we can
and work as smart as we can, however, that education will, for the most part,
be outside of a classroom.
You have more potential for
success than you know. Do not expect
others to show you how, to give you help or to open the doors. Those things will happen, but they are not
the keys to success. You are the key to
your success and you willingness, commitment and deliberate actions to get it.
While other are looking for the
easy way, you will be well on your way.
If you are willing to work hard, learn all you can, and never give up,
you will not know failure. That doesn't
mean the way will be easy, but then, easy if for the weak and unmotivated. You are a success-minded person and you will
live that dream.
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