WORK ETHIC: The Small Business Owner's Secret Weapon

Written By: Jeremy Williams, Head Coach and Owner of Red Hawk Coaching

As a coach, it is disconcerting to see people always talking about the quick paths to success vs work ethic. It is almost as though work ethic, like the recent definition of a recession, has changed over the years. People buy into the quick fixes because no one naturally wants to “do hard”.

If you’re being sold “easy”, run away from these folks. I speak this into my kids' lives daily. I get to hear what they are being taught, what they are exposed to through television and social media, and the world knows “easy” sells. I think one of the biggest mistakes spoken into people over the years is “work smarter not harder”. What has this created in our thinking? It wires the thinking that if something is hard then it is not smart so it creates avoidance from “doing the hard”.

I may not be the smartest, yet I would say that I’ve become more aware over the  years. Maybe that is what happens when you get old and experience life. It’s what happens when you take the time to slow down and evaluate the results of your actions. I believe what you will find in this time of reflection is that anything good and consistently good requires hard work.

“Easy” is like an addictive drug. Once you’re on it, “easy” is the only thing you know. How do you break the addiction? You put in the work. “Easy” may get you that quick fix, that reward you’ve been seeking though it won’t last. It’s like building a house on sand instead of rock. You still end with a roof over your head, yet only until a storm washes out the foundation.

If you want something that lasts, it is going to take work. Sometimes it is going to take hard work. There may even be a few tears, self doubt, failures, etc., and if you put in the work over time the results that will show up will last. These wins will build upon each other to arrive at bigger wins. The reward of a strong work ethic is knowing that you put in the work. A strong work ethic will change the way you think and feel about yourself. It is okay to be proud of your work and the things that you achieve by “doing hard”.

Do hard. Develop a work ethic.

Onward and Upward...

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