I have personally experienced this feeling a lot. I put the hours and effort and at the end there is little or nothing to show for it.
But when I step back and look at it in detail, it becomes very clear there was NO correlation to the work I did and the results I got! I was working on the wrong things and expecting different results. As if I was planting apple trees and expecting strawberries from it!
Imagine my car ran out of gas. All my car needs is gas to get going. But instead I choose to spend hours and hours polishing my car. The car looks spotless and shiny. But the car still will not move. Then I change oil, put in new tyres and the car will not budge. It appears that after all the hard work I put in, I cannot get the car started.
As business owners we fall in to the same trap
Every month I get calls from business owners in despair that after 20, 30 or 40 years of hard work their business is worth nothing. They were considering retirement and hoping the sale of the business will provide them with a comfortable living for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately the business did not have enough value to the potential buyer. All the hard work went in to ‘running’ the business instead the ‘building the business for sale’.
How we delude ourselves that we work hard
There are many reasons why there is a gap between work and results. I have listed few below.
Multi-tasking: This is a classic example. Multi-tasking makes us believe that we are being efficient. But at the end we master nothing and waste a lot of time.
Wasting time on trivial stuff: Non-productive activities are often pleasurable, as they don’t challenge us. For an example under the disguise of marketing, we could spend hours on social media and get excited by ‘likes’, ‘re-tweets’ and ‘followers’ without producing a lead or a customer.
Not giving priority to our goals: If you want to sell your business in 3 years for the highest possible price, and the first year you have spent most of your time simply focusing on day-to-day operations, NOT a lot is going to make your business ‘sellable’.
No commitment to a goal: If you are not committed to a serious goal, then why would you want to work hard anyway!
Taking the path of least resistance: This is where we do everything else but what we really need to do. We avoid the uncomfortable, the difficult and the unknown and do what is known, easy and comfortable, so that we feel we are doing something.
Short-cut mentality: There is a new breed who deliberately want to work less but expect great results. That is why people who sell short cuts, tools to circumvent work, and Apps that can reduce your weight, do well. This breed also interpret the ‘law of attraction’ to suit their belief – that is – if I sit and imagine what I want, I will attract it without any work!
Purposeful hard work is the answer!
If your purpose is build a wall, you start laying one brick at a time. That is your daily grind. Nothing other than laying bricks one at a time will build a wall. Talking about it won’t do it. Writing about it won’t do it. Planning it won’t do it. Spending time finding the fastest way to do it won’t do it. After all that is said and done, only laying one brick at a time will get the wall built.
Nothing can take the place of real hard work – day in day out towards your goal. This daily grind will move mountains.
Your daily grind is not sexy. Your end result seem far away and unreachable. But you now and believe that this WILL get you there. You ignore all the distractions and instant gratifications that is teasing you now! You put in the work towards your goal. The voices in your head will dig out all your negative beliefs and do everything possible to get you off your daily grind. But you smile and get on with your daily grind.
In business or personal life, your purposeful daily grind will get you to the success you deserve.
Three simple tips to achieve maximum success
Work towards a goal: A goal is just a result. Only actions towards your goal will attract the goal to you. Break the actions in to daily manageable tasks and this will be your daily grind.
Adjust as you go along: Universe is not a linear place. You will be off course more than you are on. Keep adjusting but keep moving towards your goal.
Stop looking for results as soon as you start: When you plant a seed, your job is to make sure the seed gets water, nourishment and sunlight on a daily basis. If you start digging the soil to check the progress of the seed, the chances are you will kill the seed. Focus on your daily grind with purpose – that is – watering, nourishing the seed and your results won’t be far away.
Here are some video’s and quotes that will inspire you.
1. A powerful quote from the late Jim Rohn:
“Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were better” – Jim Rohn
2. This is a quote from one of the greatest copywriter:
“If you are not running enough tests that are really flopping, then you are not doing your job…A very good copywriter is going to fail. If the guy doesn’t fail, he’s no good. He’s got to fail. It hurts. But it’s the only way to get the home runs the next time.” Eugene Schwartz.
3. This is a BBC interview with Olympic Champion Jessica Ennis, talking about the daily grind:
4. Welcome To The Grind: An inspiring video from Nike
5. How bad do you want it:
6. Will Smith On Work Ethic
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