Herman School of Business
Are you working hard enough?
Before I forget, last week I was interviewed by a writer for ENTREPRENEUR magazine and the article should appear later this week. The topic was “Know when to fold ‘em” and was a discussion about when to walk away and close up shop and the issues surrounding that. Oftentimes people want to know how you get in a national magazine. This writer googled “business failure expert” and we popped up.
Do you ever stop and think how much work it takes to succeed? While you hear about the great successes that seem to just happen and then you hear people say, “That person sure is lucky” my reaction is a little different. I wonder how much sheer effort it took to accomplish that success. It’s easy to see that a large task, like building a high rise, or the great Wall of China, takes months or years to complete. Well, frankly it takes years to make almost anything reach a high level of success.
How many failed tests with the wrong materials did Thomas Edison complete before the light bulb worked? How many clubs did the Beatles play before they were an “instant” success? Stop and think a minute about something you accomplished…and what you had to do to make that happen. Your education took years. You didn’t marry your spouse the day after you met them. That relationship took time and effort to work the way it does. You raise your children forever, mine are all adults and I am still working at being their Dad.
Why then, do you let yourself get so discouraged when it takes a long time to become successful in business? Even after twenty previous endeavors, working for about the last forty years, I am just as guilty as you are about wanting success before enough work has been done. I have assessed my writing/speaking/consulting career change. It has now been a two year full time endeavor. There have been hundreds of hours at this keyboard writing the books, the blog postings and the speeches I give. Hundreds more hours researching stuff on the Internet, and emails by the thousands have been dispatched and the incoming ones read and answered when necessary.
And so far, is that enough work to make it to the top? No. There are thousands of copies of my books out there, and tons of radio interviews have been done. TV appearances were sparse so far, but did help me get at least one consulting client. Articles have appeared in newspapers in several States, and two national magazines, with the third one due out this week. There have been speeches across the country and more lined up with thousands of people soon to hear the message I deliver. Sounds successful enough. But the reality of your situation will tell you whether you are working hard enough. And I have much more work to do. So, this Labor Day it seems appropriate to ask yourself if the level of accomplishment you have reached is sufficient to satisfy your degree of success…or…do you have to work harder to achieve your goals?
The wonderful thing about giving yourself a reality check, if you are honest with yourself…is that oftentimes the examination you do will reveal not only that you have more work to do…but also that you know what that work needs to be. Starting two years ago I was just sitting alone here writing that first book. Along the way many people were added to the process and the learning experience showed me where to put my energy and then the results showed me what to stop doing, and what to concentrate more on to keep moving down the field. In those two years much has been gained…and the confidence from the small successes make me have more energy to work even harder as I feel the higher levels of success getting closer. I am willing to “step-it-up” and work harder to hit my goals. Are you working hard enough on yours?
- Posted: 1 September 2008
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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