In these show-and-tell days, many of us like to make a spectacle of our efforts. We show off how hard we are working, wax poetic about our big plans and soak up the attention ruin that comes with it.
Here’s the thing though: working hard means nothing.
You heard me right: all your effort is worthless without certain additional elements making all that hard work convert.
I’ll explain in today’s episode.
2:10 Today’s Topic: Hard Work Is Not An Achievement
9:05 Point I: Hard work is a basic given.
9:41 At the professional level of anything, no one is going to coach you on effort.
11:09 Point II: Hard work doesn’t beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Hard work + hard work = Hard work.
12:12 Hard work without talent and skill is just hard work, it does not equal success.
13:03 Point III: 4 Possibilities for why – even though you’re working hard, you’re not where you want to be yet.
18:53 Recap
[Transcript] #1112: Hard Work Is Not An Achievement
There was a better decision to make you would’ve made it but you tuned into the show where you learned that discipline to show what day after day to do the work. The confidence to put yourself out there Bolton and authentically. And the mental toughness to continue showing up doing the work. Putting yourself out there even when the success you’ve expected to achieve is yet to be achieved and on top of all this you get to use those personal initiative. This is the go getter energy that moves you to make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen. Putting artists together to get the mindset the method the podcast known as work on your game. My name is Dre Baldwin also known as Dre All Day welcome to the show.
Today’s topic. Hard work is not an achievement. I don’t know if anybody told you that. I don’t know what you’ve been reading on social media.
I don’t know what your favorite entertainer athlete publicly noted successful individual has told you about how hard they worked as as if that is the reason for their accomplishment. Maybe it is the reason for their commitment or at least they think it is obvious they want you to think it is hard work is not an achievement. And we’re going to get into exactly why is not in the team what you need to what your mindset around hard work. I would suggest it be moving for I’m not in let’s say that you should you can do what you want with this information or do nothing with this information which is his choice as well. But I will explain to you why hard work itself is not anything to hang your hat on is not anything to be celebrated. It’s not anything that you won’t receive a reward for athletes sometimes come to me and say Dre you know I work hard and practice but I’m not getting in the game or I work hard in practices I work hard in working on my game by myself. Then I get in a game and nobody’s giving me the ball or it’s. I work hard really hard and I’ll work myself to the point of exhaustion and I’m super dedicated to what I do. I just want somebody to give me a chance so I can make the most of my chance. Or you know as hard as I’m working I feel like I deserve an opportunity since I was people even use that word. They deserve an opportunity because of how hard they work.
Listen I want to tell all of you something right now. I believe you.
That’s right. I believe that you do work hard in practice. I believe that you do put a lot of time and effort and energy into making your game as good as it can possibly be. I believe that if you were given a chance that if you were given an opportunity that you would make the most of it. I 100 percent believe everything that you say.
I know you work hard. But here’s the thing.
A lot of people work hard and some of them are good at what they do. Like you and some will make good at what they do. Like some other people that we know right. Today I’m going to explain to you I’m going to help you understand that you will need more than hard work to get your shot to get your opportunity to get that chance that you’ve been hoping for too. You’re looking forward do you want somebody to put you on. You’re going to need more than hard work to get there. If you think hard work alone is going to get you there because you heard somebody who became successful already won an award or they got some achievement or everybody’s talking about how great they are.
And the only thing they keep talking about is how hard they worked how they showed up early had a stay they had a member who was it was Cardi B I think she won an award what was this she won the Grammy Award for best rap album What a year which is a different conversation that we’re not going to have on this podcast but she came on social media next day she had this oh remember if it was a caption or it was a video but she was basically telling everybody how she was sewn up in the studio and putting all hours in and how she was pregnant as she was recording anyway she is basically letting the public know how hard she worked on her album as a defense she was defending herself because a lot of people started criticizing. Why the hell did Cardi B win album What a year for rap music when many people felt there were other albums that were better than Cardi B’s and that again and we’re not talking about that particular point but she started she defended herself the next day on social media about telling everybody how hard she worked on her album as if that’s the reason why she deserved the award was made no sense to me I mean I didn’t say anything because most people just eat this up and this is the reason why today’s episode is today’s episode it wasn’t necessarily because of that but I just thought of that as I’m speaking right now a bunch of people just aided a sucked it up everything Carter B was saying I worked so hard and I did this and I did that and I put everything I had into this and I put my whole life into making this album and you know I gave everything to make this album and people.
She got her social media round of applause as I like to say after she came out and said this and I’m reading it and I’m like So what you worked for the other people that you beat. They didn’t work hard on their album. The people whose name didn’t even get mentioned for the Grammy nomination. They didn’t work hard as some rapper out there who nobody’s ever heard of only his mom and his aunt ever bought his album and he will he’s working hard just as hard as you are and there’s a bunch of people out there who nobody’s ever got here.
They work really hard once people work hard just because you work hard doesn’t mean you deserve anything. So I really wasn’t feeling her saying that. And one reason I wasn’t feeling because the radical practical part of me was I just I just gave you saying once people work hard it doesn’t make you worthy of anything but also because there’s a bunch of impressionable people who listen to and look up to people like Cardi B or a famous person or anyone again who is publicly known for being successful in some way they look up to these people and the things that you say when you’re in that position people are mine incident people are reading into that and people are accepting that as their truth as their belief as their opinion not even understanding that they’re just that you’re just a normal person like them but because of your success they’re accepting what you say is no what if I follow what this person says I can be successful too so I cringed a little bit inside. Mentally when I heard Cardi be talking about how hard she worked as if that means oh I’m entitled to success it doesn’t mean a damn thing.
But what we’re talking about here today is I’m going to help you understand that you’re going to need more than hard work to get your shot to get your success as Cardi B also did. She wanted to only talk about our hardworking success because as I’ve said many times here on the show anybody can work hard hard work is available to everybody.
So that’s why when a person is wildly successful you ask them How did you become so successful they say I worked so hard I showed up so early I stays away and I don’t think they’re mine. I think they really did work hard.
They really did put an effort they put in the time they put in the energy they put in the money they put into focus they they put into five forms of investment that I talked about in episode six hundred and nine. But I understand everybody could do that and still not succeed. So it takes more than that to be successful in life. But people who become successful you want to talk about hard work. No one because of what everybody. Anybody can take that to say you know what I’m motivated I’m excited I’m a go work out. But people don’t want to mention you know I was I got lucky.
You know my parents were in the right place at the right time. You know I went to the right schools you know I met the right person not ran into this individual who put me on and they put me on a list personally put me on this person. Then I worked hard took that opportunity and ran with it and then I won the award. People don’t really like to point those things out because I think they feel that it kind of diminishes their success because oh you got lucky. Oh you knew the right person. Oh you had that connection. Oh you were in the right place at the right time.
But I want you all to understand every single person who’s ever reached success however you define that phrase. They had a break. They had some lucky turn they had some twist of fate that worked in their favor one way or another that allowed them to get to where they got to.
Most people don’t like to point that out because again they may feel unconsciously or consciously that is diminishing their achievement because oh that’s not available to everybody. So people like to point out the thinness available to everyone which is hard work and hard work is available to everyone. Hard work is something that you probably will need to do to be successful but you gonna need more than that to achieve and you damn sure and get no awards just because you worked hard unlike what Cardi B will like to have you think.
Let’s get into the points here today which is hard work is not in the team at point number one. Hard work is a basic given.
I think I’ve pretty much laid that out already in my preamble to these points hard work is a basic given meaning is required of you no matter what you’re doing how good you are whether you win an award or nobody’s even streaming your free shit hard work is a basic give at the professional level of anything coaching playing a sport. Being a doctor being a librarian being a janitor digging ditches building buildings at the professional level of anything nobody is going to coach you on effort.
I must say that one more time at the professional level of anything. No one is going to coach you on efforts. So if you are not conditioned discipline ready to give your best effort you will not last at the professional level of anything you’ll be out of the. If you don’t have the effort level intact and where it needs to be you’re not gonna be around for long. Some of you who have been listen to this podcast long enough remember when I had my college teammate was Pifer in NCAA Division One basketball coach was Pifer on here twice episode number 7 14 and the second time’s up so nine hundred eighty three. And he said listen if I bring a player into my program and I had to coach them or how hard to work in practice then is what are we doing is not even a conversation. I’m not even dealing with a player who had the coast in my hard to work. That’s not even a conversation at that level. So if you don’t have the ability to give effort your best effort on a consistent basis you won’t even be around. You may not even get inside a room in the first place to not be around. That’s expected of you to bring your best efforts and handle that on your own. I understand people when everybody is good just as good as you. Working hard alone is not going to separate you from anyone else. So when Cardi B won her Grammy Award and she told everybody how hard she was working so months people worked out everybody who was nominated for that war worked hard on their album that doesn’t separate you from anybody and I just didn’t understand I didn’t understand but I didn’t understand at the same time how nobody questioned her on that point number two.
Today’s topic is hard work is not in the team in episode number seven hundred twenty eight. I told you that hard work does not beat talent. Maybe your friends told you that maybe your coaches told you maybe you heard some quote attributed to some again notably successful person say hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard as bullshit as hard work does not beat talent and talent doesn’t work out if the talent get is big enough you can work as hard as you want you still won’t beat that talent. Yes I know all the stories that you can probably cite right now of the people who quote unquote make it who I to espouse all the effort that went into their success. I mean we talked about that already here. They’re not lying. They didn’t work hard but it was more than hard work that made it happen. Hardware is is the easiest thing to point out when we win because everybody understands it. Anybody can do it is motivating and look look at look at the history of people pointing out hard work when they succeed. It works. So why not. Why break it if it ain’t broke. Just keep using it.
Hard work without talent and skill is just hard work. Do you hear me.
Hard work without talent and skill is just hard work. It does not equal success hard work plus nothing else equals hard work hard work plus talent plus skill that equals success. Maybe you could become mediocre if you’re lucky and all you got is hard work to add to your case. Maybe you need a little bit more than that. You’re going to go any further. Now you could take my word for that. Or you can go live your life and you can learn on your own. But that’s just the facts. It may be very inconvenient for some of you to hear that but it’s better that you hear it from me now than you invest your entire life in learning it through actions only so much you can learn through your own experience you and got them aside.
Learn it from someone who understands and can explain it to you who’s been where you may be heading to go and maybe you decide you know what maybe I won’t go that direction now that I know what I just heard from that individual maybe hopefully I can be that for you in some areas.
Point number 3 Today’s topic is hard work is not in team. Anyone who told you that hard work was in a team it or no no some team sports teams out there may give out awards for hard work hard hardworking or a team that you better be working hard and working all you want to be on the team.
Fucking award. Point number three.
If you’ve been working hard but you feel you’re not where you expected to be at this point. Because I know there. I know that people listens it is right now who I just described. You put it to work and you put the effort and you’re shown up every day doing the work doing which is supposed to do you not where you want to be you’re not getting the attention you expected to get.
You’re not getting the aura while on your investment right now.
Maybe you there four possibilities here A you are working hard on the wrong things. And we won’t go back over these. B you’re not working as hard as you think you’re working.
C You just don’t have much talent or skill in this space and your results are trying to tell you something. Despite all your hard work. Or D maybe there isn’t much by way of results to get from the thing that you’re doing. Let’s go overall 40s.
Now the point that I’m making is point number three today stopping hard work is not an achievement. If you’ve been working hard but you feel you’re not where you want to be it. There are four possibilities for why that is happening. Possibility a you’re working on the wrong things. Maybe you’re working hard on something that just isn’t going to produce much of a result. No matter how hard you work you’ve got to make sure that before you start climbing up the ladder that there’s no when you get to the top of that ladder is that you want to be on the top of that building you’ll be on top of a different building. Make sure you lean your ladder against the right building. I think that’s the phrase. Maybe I’m butchering it but you understand what I’m saying here right. You don’t want to just climb a ladder just to climb a ladder. Now you want to climb a ladder because you want to get to the top of a certain building. Make sure you lean lighter against the right building before you start climbing. Maybe you’re working hard or something just isn’t going to produce too much of a result. So you’ve got to make sure you’re working hard but work hard on the right things not the wrong things.
Possibility be.
Maybe you’re not working as hard as you think you are. No. This is what happens to people when you do your hard work in a vacuum. You know what I mean when I say a vacuum meaning you have nothing you have no points of reference to compare your work to meaning you will have you’ll have a trainer you’ll have a coach you’ll have a second set of eyes you don’t have a workout buddy you don’t have a mentor you don’t have someone who is invested in looking at what you’re doing and giving you feedback on what you’re doing so you can continue to fine tune your efforts. The example that you may have heard before is an airplane an airplane takes off to fly from let’s say New York to Los Angeles. It is course correcting all the time on that flight when it first takes off vigil stays on the exact path that is on when he leaves the runway. It would never get to Los Angeles but every now and again I don’t even notice distances but every all the time let’s just say on this flight from New York to L.A. there’s a computer to saying OK we’re leaving from this point. We need to get to this point. What does Los Angeles need to turn that nose is one degree this way.
Now it’s down to two degrees that way. Now it’s only three degrees down. That’s 94 degrees. He knows another plane there is some weather here now. We need to turn it this way and turn it this way there are always these course corrections happening the entire way from New York to Los Angeles that’s how the plane gets there. That computer in there is always looking at where the plane is where the plane is going and saying OK we need to make a slight adjustment here make a little adjustment here a little adjustment here but it was just me here and is continually having that conversation that feedback loop is going continuously the entire flight.
You need to have a feedback loop.
You need some kind of course correction happening with your hard work at all times. Who is taking a look at your hard work and saying OK yeah you’re working hard but the way that you’re working this is why is not producing a result because your technique is wrong over here or your effort is wrong over here or you’re aiming for the wrong thing over here or the fundamental basis of how you even started this hard work. The basis is wrong is that hard work is right but we’ve got to change how you’re doing the hard work where you start in hard work from what you’re aiming for when you’re doing the hard work you need to have some level of course correction some set of eyes other than your own who can tell you OK.
This is why you’re getting a result that you’re getting. If you want to get a different result these are different things that we need to do and this is how you change it and this is how you measure it. Do you have that. So if you’re working hard and feel you’re not getting your right result maybe because you’re doing it in a vacuum. Point number c. Or a possibility. See. You’re working obviously you’re not where you want to be. Maybe you just don’t have as much town or skill as you thought you had. Maybe you already knew you didn’t have town or skill and your lack of results is just confirming what you already knew and your results are trying to tell you something just maybe your results are trying to let you know you know what. This is not the thing for you and I’m going to keep giving you signals until you finally get the message. Now I did a whole episode not too long ago about my just China birth my talent is my talent is going through birthing pains right now or am I just a bum who is working hard is something that I shouldn’t be working on and that whole episode Natsuko go listen to it. Maybe your results are just letting you know you know what means we’ll keep letting you know if you want to be hardheaded. Go ahead but we won’t keep when you know and so you decide to get the message.
If it takes you a whole life and it takes your whole life is your life to this possibility D you’ve been working hard before you’re not getting the results you expected. Maybe there just isn’t much by way of results from this thing that you’re doing. Maybe and this is kind of related to possibility. Maybe it is just not anything to get from this. You can work hard on it but so what. Who cares. You could work hard on creating something but nobody wants it doesn’t matter. You worked hard when you could work out an album. No I listens to it doesn’t matter if you worked hard on it you can work hard on your jump shot but if you never get in a game or nobody passes you the ball doesn’t matter if you worked hard long you jump shot. Probably not. So it’s not just working hard. Period is working hard on things that will produce the results that you want to produce. You even know what the result is that you wish to produce. Maybe there’s just not much by way of results available and what you’re working on so maybe you want to redirect that energy somewhere else as J.C. said in one of his songs is nothing wrong with my aims has got to change the target.
Let’s recap today’s topic which is hard work is not an achievement. Somebody told you it was they lied to you and I know a lot of people out there lied to you not because they’re trying to deceive you because they don’t know any better but that’s why we got the Work On Your Game Podcast set everybody straight. Point number one hardwork is a basic given as a basic requirement baseline level at the professional level of anything.
Nobody is going to coach you on effort if you don’t have your ability to give your best effort. You will not be around for long. It is expected of you to handle that on your own when everybody is good hard work alone will not separate you from anybody else. Despite what you have been so point number two in episode 728 tells you hard work does not beat talent. Yes I know all the stories of the people who quote unquote made it who like to tell you all the effort that went into their success they’re not nine. All that effort did go into it success. But I understand how it worked by itself.
Hard work plus hard work equals hard work hard work plus talent plus skill that equals success that equals a story that equals somebody who quote unquote made it.
If you’re just working hard with no skill and no talent maybe just maybe if you’re lucky you could become mediocre and nobody pays for mediocre. And I did a whole episode on that as well. Point number three you’ve been working hard but still you’re not where you expect to be. Maybe a you’re working on the wrong things. B you’re not working as hard as you think you are so you need a second set of eyes. C you’ll have as much talent of skill as you thought you did or as much as you know you didn’t have. And your results are trying to tell you something is just getting louder and louder the more you keep not listening and being hardheaded or D maybe there isn’t much by way of results to get from this thing that you’re doing so no matter how hard you work there’s only so much a result you can get maybe you already got it all.
Work on your game. Dre All Day.
Join the Game Group Membership, where STRATEGY is the name of the game: http://DreAllDay.com/Membership
Dre’s latest book Work On Your Game: Using The Pro Athlete Mindset To Dominate In Sports, Business and Life can be ordered at http://DreAllDay.com/Order.
Leave A Review of Work On Your Game: https://dreallday.com/review
The Work On Your Game podcast covers every aspect of Mental Toughness, Confidence and Discipline with 9-year pro basketball player and author of 22 books on the Mental Game of sports and life, Dre Baldwin.
Show notes, comments and full archive of all Work On Your Game episodes can be found at http://DreAllDay.com/Podcast
Learn more about Dre at http://DreAllDay.com.
Find Dre on social media:
Instagram & Snapchat @DreBaldwin
Twitter @DreAllDay
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to have each new episode sent directly to you daily!
Work On Your Game Podcast on: Apple Podcasts | SoundCloud | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Blueberry | Player.FM
