Why ‘Hard Work’ alone WON’T get us there

We always hear people saying; “hard work is the key to success.”

Do you really believe that? In the past, I would say “Yes, if you work hard enough, you get what you want.”

However, after years being in the business, working very hard, taught me some hard lessons, and put me on the right track.

Now, I have to say; “No, I don’t believe that.”

Hard work alone won’t get us anywhere!

Working 24 hours non-stop won’t get us there!

What is hard work anyway?

If someone is working without lifting their head up, without taking any breaks during the day, if they are always doing overtime, working on the weekends, does that mean they work very hard?

I don’t think so.

I would say they are probably doing something wrong. Not efficient or productive.

Have you ever had the feeling that you are working and working, very hard, but still you are NOT where you want to be in your business or life?

Everyone has 24 hours in a day; the most successful ones, and the unsuccessful ones.

What is the difference between those people?

These successful people, somehow, do all the work and do it well and finish on time too!

There is a lot more into success.

Real financial success can’t be achieved with just hard work.

Some tips here for all of us.

Even if we are very successful, we still need to visit the basics every so often.

1-    Know where you are going / Have goals

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there!”

I’m sure you heard this before.

Knowing where you are going is, not enough either.

It’s like looking at a map.

If you want to get somewhere, first you need to find out where you are on the map;

Look at your numbers, at your skills and look at what you have already.

Secondly, find where you want to go to;

Have goals, set some targets. Be specific.

For example; look at how many services you have done last year and say you want 20% more this year. Put exact numbers.

And make sure you write your goals down! Written goals make a massive difference.

Then, work on and decide what is the best ways to get there.

Plan: what skills do you need, in order to hit your targets?

What numbers do you want, to feel more successful?

Then, start closing the gap between where you are and where you want to go.

Work on your plan.

Don’t forget to keep the positive attitude.

If you don’t believe it’s possible for you to achieve what you want, you can work day and night, but you will never succeed.

“Plan to win, Prepare to win and Expect to win” as Zig Ziglar said.

2-    Train yourself / Learn

There is a formula for success

Success = Be* Do* Have

You need to Be to Do, You need to Do to Have.

First; Be that Person. Train yourself, to be that successful person!

Once you are that person, You will have the skills to Do things.

Then, take action –  Do it. And you will have what you want.

We can learn a lot from other’s successes and failures. Read or listen about successful people. Especially if you are driving around a lot, audio books are brilliant in the car.

We can’t do the same things over and over, and expect a different result.

3-    Work smart

Working day and night is not good.

We found that hard work doesn’t mean productive and it doesn’t mean efficient.

Hard work is necessary, but being efficient and productive with your time is more important.

When you work hard but not smart, you will waste lots of time.

Time is money – don’t waste it.

Unnecessary hard work will make you exhausted, will burn you out and you won’t have any energy left over to grow your business or be with your family.

Be “Result Oriented”, and solve the problems.

4-    Use the right tools

Technology makes us more efficient and productive.

Organise the work in a way that you or your staff don’t waste time.

If there are any gadgets, software or any programs, that could help you in your business, then just get them.

With the right tools you get, you might not need that extra staff member.

5-    Hire the right people

Team is the most important part of any business.

You can’t do it all yourself.

It is not possible to be an expert in every field.

To grow, you need to learn how to delegate and how to corporate.

Having staff and leveraging time, will give you time to grow your business.

However, if you get the wrong people, it could be the worst thing ever.

Your staff should be better than you in their specific role.

To minimise the mistakes, create a manual / handbook for the roles and explain how you want them to do the tasks.

And they should be able to start the way you like and get even better later.

6-    Use social media

Marketing is the engine of the business.

Whether we like it or not, social media is the most powerful tool ever.

Be out there – tell people what you do.

If you are doing a great job, but no one knows about it, it is not possible to grow.

Take a before and after shots of your work and put it on Twitter, Linked-in and Facebook.

7-    Relationships

Make good connections. Support from others is very important.

Make sure you surround yourself with like-minded people.

Stay away from the negative.

Even if they are your family, don’t let negativity get into your life.

Surround yourself with people more successful than you are, so you can bounce ideas back and forward.

Don’t ask business advice from people, not doing so well…

Don’t forget;

Broke + Broke = Broker!

 

What Are Your Must-Do Tips to Grow?

I hope that this post has given you some ideas that will help you grow your business be more productive and effective.

I’d love to hear about what are your favourite tips for growing the business?