The successful movie “The Founder”, about the founding of McDonald’s, features an inspiring quote by Calvin Coolidge: Nothing in the world can replace perseverance. Talent cannot. There are many talented but unsuccessful people—neither can intelligence. Unnoticed intelligence is just a cliché. Neither does education. The world is full of educated fools. The power of perseverance and determination is unlimited.
Nothing can replace hard work and perseverance. Because working is the only success factor that is completely under your control. There is a thought trap that many high-potential people fall into. This trap is believing that experience, knowledge, or superior qualities are sufficient for success. However, the phenomenon called success consists of many factors coming together correctly. At the beginning of these factors are work and effort. Writer Jeffrey J. Fox says: You may not be brilliant. You may not have God-given talents either. You can be a disorganized person. You may also be a hard learner or a monotonous person. You may not have most of what the competition requires… There is only one thing you can do: You can work!” The author covers this topic in one chapter of his wonderful book “How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business” and talks about an inspiring story. The story is as follows (Fox, 2004):
In a neighborhood of the city, there was a group of poor market owners who came up against a rich market owner who has been operating for a long time. The former market owners were the sole rulers of their location with their well-functioning shops. The only thing newcomers had was hard work and effort. Unlike the old ones, the newcomers worked from early in the morning until midnight. They also tried different things that the ancients did not do. They worked so hard that over time they even bought apartments above their shops. And over the years, they have taken away the jobs of the old ones one by one. Years later, a young man, who is one of the grandchildren of the old, complained to his grandfather that he had lost his shop to the new ones and said: Come on, grandfather. You can’t blame me These guys work eighteen hours a day. What could I have done?” The eighty-two-year-old grandfather, who was a former landlord, looked at his grandson and gave him a meaningful answer, “If only you had worked twenty hours.”
There is always something you can do! If you work, you can get paid for it; however, if you work harder than others, you will definitely get paid. Make sure you’re not just moving, you’re creating something. Stay away from Rocking Chair Syndrome. A man sitting in a rocking chair shakes like crazy, but it goes nowhere. Do something impressive. Don’t take it lightly, even if you’re working on a job that falls within your area of talent, doing something that is easy for you to do but difficult for others. The greatest composers have composed far more than any other. Michelangelo painted more than any Italian painter. Raphael painted more frescoes than any Renaissance artist. If the job is not difficult, you are missing something. If you have to work to earn, never let others work harder than you (Fox, 2004).
Author Harry Golden says that the only thing that overcomes bad luck is hard work. This statement is correct but somewhat incomplete. Hard work is the only thing that can overcome all kinds of difficulties, obstacles, and shortcomings. Almost anything in life can be used as an excuse for failure. But there is no excuse for not working. Because work is the only thing in your control.
References: Jeffrey J. Fox (2004) “How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business” Hachette Books
