Some people need a little nudge. They need feedback from a team member or supervisor to tell them they’ve got this. Encouraging another person to step up their game even a little could be the turning point. Dina Diamond from Hot 100 Radio shared the story about her first radio job; she always showed up ten minutes before they went on air. Her mentor asked her to be at the studio fifteen minutes before air time. Dina didn’t understand at that time why it was necessary. The mentor finally said it is essential, so please do it for me. She then started showing up twenty minutes early. Having that one-on-one conversation with her mentor, even though she didn’t understand why it was essential, having them believe in her and encourage her that she had it in her to succeed in the industry was the turning point for her career.
Many people make excuses every day for different reasons not to work hard. Doing the bare minimum and not trying will never set yourself apart from others. Hard work means putting in the time. Social media would have you believe that you can work a few hours a day and earn big money. But that is not true. Instagram celebrities did not get there with minimal effort. Hard work does not seem glamorous, but it is at the heart of every successful brand.
- Elon Musk works 80 – 120 hours a week.
- Jeff Bezos put in 12 workdays, seven days a week, in the early days of Amazon.
- Tim Cook is the first person to arrive and the last to leave Apple.
- Mark Cuban didn’t give himself a holiday for the first seven years.
- Professional athletes like Michael Jordan, Venus & Serena Williams, and Kobe Bryant have an insane work ethic and dedication.
I often talk of soft skills, accountability, credibility, and humility, and we often overlook hard work. Success takes effort. Working hard isn’t a great strategy on its own. You need to work smart. Success is a skill that takes a lot of failures and personal growth and development. Sir Winston Churchill said: “Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.”
Benefits of Hard Work
- Hard Work Leads to Self-Development
- Hard work is not always easy.
- Face challenges head-on.
- You will learn perseverance & patience.
- You will learn time management
- Gain a Reputation as a Reliable Person
- Hard workers are considered dependable.
- Most hard workers do not procrastinate.
- Hard Work Helps You Build Confidence
- Becoming a better version of yourself should always be a goal.
A hard-working employee is willing to learn and always looking for ways to grow within the company.
When I worked at a bank, there was one co-worker that consistently showed up for her shift at 8:00 am sharp, or was late. The problem was that when she showed up at 8:00 am sharp, she did not have her cash drawer out of the vault and wasn’t logged in and ready to serve customers. Online banking was not popular yet, meaning that customers were waiting for the doors to be unlocked to do their banking. Fifteen minutes before the end of her shift, she would start closing her teller station and refused to wait on customers. This behavior did not exhibit hard work. It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort to be a hard worker. A hard worker means that you show up early, do your work, and go a little above and beyond to stand out. A hard worker is reliable and dependable.
You do not need to be a manager or a supervisor to encourage a co-worker.
“Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill
By Cheryl Viola, Executive Director & CEO, MBA
Luminous Marketing Solutions