April 10, 2009

Have You Put More Hard Work into Your Successes or Your Failures?

published this at 8:32 am

I've been thinking . . .

about the hard road to success.

I’m not thinking about getting rich quick. I’m thinking about accomplishing rigorous, heartfelt dreams. What I’m wondering is

Is the road to success really hard?

I worked for someone once, who believed that if you got good grades and didn’t complain about the work, you went to an easy school. She would argue for the problem — that school was supposed to hard, that work was supposed to be taxing. That success needed to be earned by blood, sweat, and tears.

Does it really?

Every success I’ve known has come from being saturated in learning. I threw myself at every minute of my university time. It didn’t feel hard at the time. It felt thrilling. I wasn’t thinking about how hard it would be to get to the goal. I was thinking about the path to take me there.

All I saw was what new process I got to learn, which new skill I got to master, which new person I got to meet to accomplish the next step to make my way. Nothing seemed like so much work, but at the end I knew and could do things..

I realize now that every time I’ve been a success the work hasn’t felt hard — It’s felt huge, but energizing — pushing me forward. It seems that I’ve put more hard work into trying to save my biggest failures.

Seems to me, if we think the road to success is hard, then we’re on the wrong road.
Seems to me, if we choose our own right road, the work becomes less like work.
Seems to me what comes natural comes more easily.

How about you? Have you put more hard work into your successes or your failures?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Buy the ebook.

Register for SOBCon09 NOW!! Invest, Learn, Grow!

Filed under Motivation-Inspiration, Successful Blog | 16 Comments »


C'mon. Let's talk!

16 Comments to “Have You Put More Hard Work into Your Successes or Your Failures?”

  1. April 10th, 2009 at 10:22 am
    --Deb said

    Oh, Liz, this post is WONDERFUL. It’s so easy to ignore that energized, enthusiastic feeling as being counter-productive. To convince ourselves that, if we’re having fun, it’s not WORK, and that if it’s not work, it won’t succeed.

    Yet, it’s so much easier to spread the light of successful innovation (in whatever field) if we’re lit from within with ideas and enthusiasm–so the fire will catch and spread! Keeping your light under a bushel is just counter-productive–and the lack of air will just kill the light. And who wants that?

  2. April 10th, 2009 at 11:30 am
    Christian Messer said

    Liz – Wow! You and I do think alike in many ways. I view the road to success as a challenge – I love challenges, I welcome them – part of my job is to solve problems.

    Right now, I’m launching a magazine – It wasn’t what I expected a year ago. The timing was just right for this project. Do I know a lot about publishing a magazine? I have my graphic design talent and skills, but really -Nope – not until now. I have learned so much and from so many, many great people who are there and will be there to help.

    Yes, the work is “hard” – but really it is just the volume of things I have to do to get from point A to point Z. I seriously cannot believe how easy it was to collect and attract the huge amount of talent that I have now on my staff.

    It literally blows my mind! The best part of any journey is the thrill, the excitement and (hopefully) the passion that drives train. Overwhelming is an easy thing to dissolve, with a walk, a video game, or window shopping. The end result will keep those fires going at full tilt, and if you’re going down the right path – it will continue.

  3. April 10th, 2009 at 11:41 am
    Kathy | Virtual Impax said

    Liz,

    You’ve hit the nail right on the head – “if we choose our own right road, the work becomes less like work.”

    My oldest son “works” very hard to achieve success on the athletic field of competition. He lifts weights, he runs for miles and miles and trains daily. None of it feels like “work” to him. However, ask him to write a blog post or a paper – and suddenly THAT feels like work to him.

    Meanwhile – exercise is definitely “work” for me and writing definitely feels more like play.

    Ah, I wish blogging did for my body what running would do! I’d be in MUCH better shape if it did!!!

  4. April 10th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
    Tim Bursch said

    We have been told that success is hard and that you have to fail 1000 times to get 1 success.

    What if it’s easy though? Like you say– “Seems to me what comes natural comes more easily.”

    Seems like success is more about the process and journey than than arriving once. Maybe we are all more full of success than we think?

  5. April 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
    Christa M. Miller said

    Not sure it’s always so success vs. failure, though. What if you just plain don’t know what you’re doing?

    Thinking back to my own university days… I didn’t have a firm enough grasp of who I was yet. Some things felt more like work than others, but everything at some point felt like work. Not until after I had “worked” (the wrong way) for some time did I realize writing was “it” for me.

    Then there was a process of refinement. I guess you could say there were little failures, but all carried the opportunity to change/correct what I was doing. So although that process felt like “work”… I can’t say it was going in the wrong direction.

    I think this is where intuition is ultimately most important – giving us the ability to figure out when work is still right, and when it is just wrong.

  6. April 10th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
    Todd Smith said

    This is why I LOVE you, Liz! yes, yes, yes, yes! If you’re moving to the light and it’s getting darker, how can you be sure you’re on the right path??!! You’ve talked about authenticity before and this is about it too. When you’re really, authentically you, it’s easy. You may even be working hard, buy you’re resting inside because you’re just who you want to be. When you try to be someone else, it’s hopeless.

  7. April 11th, 2009 at 12:00 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Thank you, thank you Deb!
    It’s hard to know whether we’re on the right path unless our friends tell us we’re shining. :)

    We can tap into our knowing, but our knowing doesn’t feel as good as the validation of our friends saying “yeah, you got it right!”

  8. April 11th, 2009 at 12:03 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    I agree, Christian,
    The best part is the thrill!
    We’re here to live our lives. I feel so … for the folks who stand back and don’t try.

  9. April 11th, 2009 at 12:05 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Kathy,
    Though I’ve never heard you speak, I know your voice. I hear it echo inside and throughout your words every time you write something on my blog. You make talking and communicating easy.

    It’s not work with you. :)

  10. April 11th, 2009 at 12:08 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Christa,
    I so love how you think. You make me stop to consider again.

    One thing I realize is that I don’t think enough about the little successes I have. I think too much about the little failures — I make them too huge.

    Maybe I think too much altogether.

    heh heh :)

  11. April 11th, 2009 at 12:09 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Todd,

    You said it …

    When you’re really, authentically you, it’s easy.

    How could I improve on that?

    Thank you.

  12. April 11th, 2009 at 1:54 am
    Erno Hannink said

    Liz, I think you are right. It is not hard work, but it is a lot of work. The hard part is that you need to persevere.
    A lot of the people quit before success is coming to them.

    Another important thing is ‘What is success?’ You said it ‘I’m not thinking about getting rich quick. I’m thinking about accomplishing rigorous, heartfelt dreams.’

    Many people think of success as money earned, big house, 2-3 cars, 3-4 holidays….
    Success is so not ‘stuff’ it is emotion. The feeling you get when you make people happy, when you change a life, when you have the time to be hugged, it is so wonderful

    It is just a lot of work, that’s all :)

  13. April 11th, 2009 at 8:47 am
    Christa M. Miller said

    Liz,

    I KNOW I think too much! :D

    It’s true that we tend to focus on failures, large or small, more than successes. Kind of like we remember bad vs. good customer service for a longer period (and tell more people about the bad). Hmm.

    Maybe it’s harder to focus on success because we continue to move forward. It serves as affirmation we’re on the right track. Failure forces us to stop and reassess, every time. And never mind the whole socio-cultural “issues” about the two! ;)

    Also: Erno – “Many people think of success as money earned, big house, 2-3 cars, 3-4 holidays….
    Success is so not ’stuff’ it is emotion. The feeling you get when you make people happy, when you change a life, when you have the time to be hugged, it is so wonderful”

    I could not agree more. I like living comfortably but I like not being interchangeable labor even more!

  14. April 11th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Erno!
    Yeah, most importantly ya gotta know what you’re going for and then go for it. If your head, heart, and purpose are all going in the same direction, it’s likely that you’ll be feeling the joy of a mission, not the work that’s behind it. At least, that’s my experience. :)

  15. April 11th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Christa!
    Sometimes I think it’s even more basic — we’re willing to beat ourselves up for failures, but we’re less willing to notice or take credit for our successes. Most of us have been taught to shy away from what could be interpretted as pride.

    We need to value our accomplishments, even the little ones. They’re the fuel that keeps us going. :)

  16. April 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
    Linda Sherman said

    Great topic. I’ve never minded hard work if it’s towards a goal that I have chosen. Learning to read and speak Japanese took many hours but I found ways to make it fun for myself and patted myself on the back a lot as I progressed. Financially, it was one of the best investments of time I ever made. Someone said it’s hard to learn after 30; nonsense!

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

C'mon Let's Talk!