Finding a job, getting a promotion, or staying relevant in your career always starts with the value you provide through your work performance.
So you’d *think* that this is an easy thing to prove, right?
Chances are you’re missing a bigger part of the picture: How hard are you working?
Yeah, I know “Work Smart, Not Hard” is everyone’s mantra thanks to generation after generation of Americans raised on high school guidance counselor motivational posters. I’m a big fan of working smart because hard work usually gets you one thing: more hard work.
What about the hard work we apply to ourselves, though?
Switching that context is a game changer. Work smart on your job, but don’t take shortcuts and apply hacks to your personal development and career.
You might not want to put in the effort, and that’s a choice you are free to make. A lot of people these days seem to make that choice.
If you want to go beyond where you’re at (in work or life), you must work smart by working hard – on yourself and for yourself.
Struggle is a feature, not a bug.
Making the struggle count for something is where we find meaning.
(eth Godin inspired this post; here’s what he said recently in his blog. You can find it here
