For some time now I have been obsessed with the Art of Hard Work and people’s perspectives of this term. Hard work is something that most people correlate to physical “hustle”. An act of will that is powered by adrenaline. It gets a tough wrap sometimes, hard work because it is misunderstood. There are many layers to this beautiful art. And if pulled off correctly it can grow people to achieve all their dreams and goals.
My obsession with hard work started with one of my early mornings at the gym. Before I hear anyone speak in the morning, I typically tune in to a Conor McGregor interview because I am fascinated by his thought process. People give him a tough wrap, all they hear is his trash talk and see his knockouts but never really hone into his thought process on how to achieve our dreams through hard work.
One morning I heard a quote from one of his interviews…
“There’s no talent here, this is hard work. This is an obsession. Talent does not exist, we are all equals as human beings. You could be anyone if you put in the time. You will reach the top, and that’s that. I am not talented. I am obsessed.”
-Conor McGregor
We are all equals as human beings. That is the part that made me think.
We all come from somewhere. We all have unique backgrounds. Sure, some of us are blessed with more than others. But our mental slate is all equal from day one. We come into this earth knowing just as much as the other children that are born in the delivery room surrounding us.
We all have the same opportunity to learn and become whatever we want to be in life. I have realized what sets us all apart from each other is our unique mindsets. Some of us may feel that just because we are born into a certain situation, we are doomed from the get-go.
We are capable of whatever we want to achieve through hard work. Ah, those two words again. Well, I won’t continue to speel about my first occurrence of what got me obsessed with the Art of Hard Work. The Art of Hard Work consists of many facets. Its layers can be peeled back for centuries. Here is what I have found hard work consists of. I listed them out below instead of continuing to write in blog format. I don’t follow the rules of writing very well and I don't care.
What makes up the term “Hard Work”
Discipline - doing things when we don’t feel like it with the foresight of growth in mind.
Consistency - this goes hand in hand with discipline. It is the way discipline is acted out.
Self Awareness - realizing when something we are doing could be done better by certain new actions, changing them, and acting them out in a consistent manner.
Emotional Intelligence - the art of controlling our emotions so we stay even-keeled and keep our goal moving forward. This is a must to keep a solid team together. Michael Jordan didn’t win all his championships on his own.
Accepting we are all average - we are all born equal.
Uncomfortably - we must realize that in order to grow we need to be put in uncomfortable situations and give them our best shot.
Failure - welcome the opportunity to fail. It’s better to fail than to wonder “what would have happened if I tried.” Fall down 10 times, get up 11.
Focusing on what we can control - there are some things that are up to other individuals’ decisions.
Realizing Green Hours - know when you operate best and plan around that time of day.
Sacrifice - if we want to be average, we must do the amount of work an average person does. If we want to be great, it will take sacrificing time on a consistent basis.
Being Humble - let the work speak for itself.
Patience - realizing our goals and dreams may be years away. The process is a beautiful thing.
Hard work is more than just physical hustle to me. It is what helps us “level up” as human beings to understand what we are capable of. These are just my thoughts, take them or leave them. Thanks for reading :)
-Vinny
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