You Can't Get Around This...

I encounter a great deal of people regularly that are frustrated with their attempts at trying to arrive at what they would consider success. A deeper look, however, reveals that their attempts to arrive at success were curtailed by inconsistency and laziness. In other words, they worked hard for a moment, but they never got a chance to arrive at their destination because they weren't focused enough to finish what they started.

Uh Oh. Is this you? Let me help...

I am fascinated by the definition of hard work. Oxford defines hard work as "a great deal of effort or endurance". I would venture to say that should read "a great deal of effort and endurance." I believe that it takes both effort (at doing the right things) and perseverance in order to see or realize the success that you're looking for. I have said this before, and I think it bears repeating. Consistency and patience will take you further than you realize. Doing anything consistently affords you the opportunity to gain momentum. It is that momentum that catapults you to get to your determined end. But, in the same way, your results will show forth your inconsistency. If you are not seeing the results you are looking for, it is probably because you are not doing anything consistently to produce those results. You have to work diligently for what you want.

Okay, wait! I hear ya. So maybe you are not a stranger to hard work. You don't mind working hard but you still don't see the results you are looking for. Keep reading...

Another point to note is that you have to be focused at doing the right things to achieve what you desire. Sometimes the problem isn't that you are not willing to put in work. Sometimes, it's that you are putting the effort into the wrong activities. If you are trying to strengthen and build your legs (anatomically), but when you go to the gym you are doing exercises that will build your chest muscles, then it would make sense during evaluation that you would not see much progress in the lower half of your body. So, while you may have been working hard at working out, you weren't focused on the right activity for the results you were looking for. It is like that in business. This is another source of great frustration for business owners. They can't seem to figure out why they are not getting any closer to where they want to be. It is because what they are actually working hard at really doesn't lead to progression towards the intended goal. It's not just about being productive. It's about being effective and being effective, is about doing things that will get you closer to your intended goal.

You can ask anyone who has ever achieved success and they will tell you that you have to work for it. And let me let you in on a little secret ---> Hard work is HARD. That is partly why many people find themselves being inconsistent. Andrew Carnegie said, "Anything in life worth having is worth working for." So, again, the ball is in your court. Is your goal worth having? Is it really something you want?

You will never see what you say you want to see unless you put the work in. Proverbs 14:23 says, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads to poverty (NIV)." (Can I just tell you that I love what this says)?! But what does this mean? It means that hard work is profitable, and we've all heard it, you cant just "talk about it", you have to "be about it." You can't get around it. You can't skip it. You can't fast forward fast it. Don't tell me what you want. Show me what you want! Before long, you will see what you are looking for. I guarantee it.