How many times have you heard the quote “Hard work is the key to success”? A lot I would imagine!
Let’s look into why hard work is a key ingredient for success and if hard work alone will get you to where you want to be.
What Is Hard Work?
Hard work is putting dedicated effort into a task and seeing it through till the end.
Sometimes you’ll need to make sacrifices have persistence and stay determined to get the job done. All of these go hand in hand with working hard.
If you want to achieve a desired outcome then you need to have a strategic plan in place. Working hard alone with no direction will only lead to burnout.
Planning and hard work combined will help you reach your goals in a streamlined way without wasting any mental and physical energy.
6 Reasons Why Hard Work Is The Key To Success
There are many reasons my hard work is the key to success, but here are the top 5 reasons why it is key:
1. Personal Growth
Working hard can lead to success by enabling you to hone skills, gain experience and demonstrate dedication.
This will compound your progress and help you make big strides towards your goal.
2. Learn lessons faster
As an entrepreneur, a by-product of working hard means that you’ll find out what works and what doesn’t.
3. Development of character
The discipline and work ethic developed through hard work contribute to building strong character traits such as integrity, resilience and determination.
4. Gain recognition
Friends, colleagues, and bosses will all take notice of your hard work.
This in turn will earn you the respect you deserve for putting in the effort that’s needed to succeed.
5. Create your luck
You create your luck by working hard.
In a nutshell, this means that putting in consistent effort means that opportunities to grow may present themselves and in turn, this will look like luck.
6. Motivates and inspires
There’s no doubt about it, hard work motivates and inspires.
Have you ever had that feeling of accomplishment after you complete a task you’ve never done before? It is so motivating and that is a by-product of your hard work!
True Stories That Encompass Why Hard Work Is Key To Success
Sara Blakely (Founder of Spanx)
Sara invested all of her savings into her business and even wrote her patent to save money on legal fees.
This demonstrates hard work, but not in the normal sense of working long hours, but in the sense of making sacrifices and taking risks.
Her hard work and dedication certainly paid off as Spanx is a hugely successful company.
Jack Ma (Founder of Alibaba)
Ma is a great example of why hard work and perseverance are the key to success. Ma faced plenty of failures and setbacks on his road to success.
He failed his college entrance exams and was rejected from numerous jobs. Although that didn’t dampen Ma’s spirit to succeed, he went on to start his first business… yet this failed.
Many would be put off by trying anything else, yet Ma was determined to succeed at business… This time he succeeded and founded Alibaba, which is one of the largest E-commerce companies in the world.
How Can Hard Work Lead To Success?
Hard work can lead to success for many reasons. Firstly if you put in the effort over time and consistently improve your work you’ll increase your chances of success.
The quote “Fail, fail early, but always fail forward” explains this perfectly as by working hard you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.
Secondly, a by-product of working hard means you’ll develop valuable skills, gain experience and demonstrate dedication. This can get you the recognition you deserve from colleagues and supervisors, and with that opportunities are highly likely to come your way.
Why Is Hard Work Important?
Hard work is important because it gives us a sense of purpose and helps us grow as people.
The benefits of hard work are undeniable.
Here is a list of them:
- You feel accomplished when you succeed
- It’s motivating to see progression
- People give you recognition
- The harder you work the quicker you get ahead
- It helps you develop self-discipline
Examples of What “Hard Work Is Key To Success” Looks Like In Everyday Life
Studying for an exam
Imagine you’re a student studying for a challenging exam.
You put the hard work in by diligently studying and consistently practising so that you’re prepared for the exam.
When the results day comes and you find out you’ve passed you feel amazing and that’s down to the hard work studying.
Losing weight for a big event
You want to lose weight for a wedding, so you start going to the gym and eating healthier.
Each day you put the cravings to the back of your mind as you want to lose the weight for the wedding.
Each week you consistently work out and put in the effort. The wedding has arrived and you’ve been successful and have reached your goal weight.
This would not have been possible without your hard work and determination.
Key Takeaway
Each example requires you to make sacrifices, become dedicated and stay consistent. These are all important elements of how working hard can lead to success.
FAQ’s
Who Said Hard Work Is Key To Success?
The quote “Hard work is the key to success” wasn’t said by a single person. It has been used by many people. Two notable figures who did say this quote were John Carmack and Vince Lombardi.
Is Hard Work The Only Key To Success?
Hard work isn’t the only key to success. Success comes from working smart and learning what works and what doesn’t.
You have to be strategic when working towards a goal.
Also, some people have natural abilities which will cut down the time it takes for them to reach success.
What Are The Benefits Of Hard Work?
There are numerous benefits of working hard. Firstly you feel personal satisfaction, being able to say that you worked hard today and you feel like you moved forward on a task is motivating.
Secondly, a by-product of hard work is professional growth and increased productivity. You begin to learn new skills and discover what works and what doesn’t work, then you can increase your productivity by continuing down the path that does work and developing your new skills.
Another benefit of hard work is that it often creates new opportunities. People begin to notice you for your work, this can lead to greater respect and garner new working relationships.
Conclusion
There we have it, I think we all know that hard work is a key part of achieving success.
In conclusion, hard work is a culmination of different types of effort. These include discipline, consistency, sacrifice, risk-taking and perseverance.
Whatever part of your journey you’re on, stay motivated, work hard and success will be yours.
