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Effort. Endurance. Diligence. Industriousness: Oxford Defines Merriam-Webster
Effort. Endurance. Diligence. Industriousness: Oxford Defines Merriam-Webster
Jason Fried
’s recent piece on hard work. It was thought-provoking. It continued a larger conversation. We
all search for meaning. We’re all looking for values that can guide us. We want to make sense of
why we do, what we do. We’re hoping that our life’s purpose will lead us to happiness and peace
of mind.
So, where does hard work fit into that equation? And what does it
mean?
Here’s the point: No one gets to define hard work for anyone else. Just
like success, you define hard work for yourself. Your definition of hard
work should support your definition of success!
It’s best for each of us to take the term and apply it to our own life. For
me, hard work means going to my job each day, giving my all, then
coming home and loving my family with all my heart, writing a new
book, writing and marketing for my personal business. I try my
darnedest to do these things with maximum effort and a positive
attitude.
The days where I don’t feel like I give things my all, I don’t feel
successful. I don’t feel happy. There are people counting on me!
Employees that I manage and mentor, co-workers, family members
and people who enjoy what I have to write about. I desire to give my all
to bring value to the lives of others. This is empowered by a sense of
commitment.
In other words, we work hard because we care. No one works hard for
no reason at all. We have families to support, dreams to work toward
and curiosities to satisfy. We have an innate sense of liberty inside all
of us. We do things in some instances to survive, others to amuse
ourselves, but many of us make an impact because we want to leave a
legacy.
That person has a much different definition of hard work than the one
I have for myself. And guess what? That’s fine. That’s what makes all of
us unique. We should all work to contribute to society and do what we
can to make our lives — and the lives of those around us — better, no
matter our circumstances.
So, I pose the question to you. How do you define hard work? What
does that mean to you? You saw my definition of hard work. You might
have read Jason’s thoughts on the subject. There is surely value in this
term. It’s been passed down from generation to generation, largely
because it does have universal, significant meaning.