One of my former employers (my best friend's dad) used to say, in a very dad-like way, to the three of us (me, my best friend, and another friend) as we built houses:
"You know what, boys? There's only one way to get ahead in life, and it's two four letter words:
'HARD WORK.'"
As guys in our teenage years and early twenties, we all used to kind of roll our eyes and groan a bit whenever these pearls of wisdom were delivered. I personally didn't want to think about hard work for a second if it meant framing houses. I wanted to fuckin' play music and write books. Looking back, though, I see that my friend's dad--a kind of second father to me--was absolutely right on. To get anywhere worth going, to do anything worth doing, there really is no "magic bullet." Well, no, you know what? There is. And you know what that magic bullet is? Yep. You guessed it. HARD. WORK.
Now, this all reminds me of running. I ran 37 kilometers last Saturday without stopping and still find myself having moments where I just can't believe I was able to accomplish this. Just two months ago it would not have been an exaggeration to say that I couldn't run more than 2 kilometers without feeling like I was going to die.
You know what made the difference for me? Small steps. I had other seasoned runners tell me to listen to my body, not to push too hard, and just work on getting the miles racked up, bit by bit. I read in Haruki Murakami's book WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING that he took a similar approach, and always stopped his runs before exhaustion, when he felt he could still easily run some more. That way, the exhilaration could carry over to the next day's run, and he wouldn't burn out.
Another thing my friend's dad always said: "WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER."
This may seem to be approaching the realm of contradiction, coming from the same guy who was always advocating hard work, but I think there is an important nuance to be noted here. A critical one, actually. Working hard is a state of mind. A state of body. And a state of BEING. It is a commitment to purpose related to an often furious, and always insatiable internal drive which is part and parcel of said purpose. I could work my ass off trying to do something I am not passionate about, and know nothing about, and at the end of the day I will end up with nothing but a pile of dirt and an exhausted body and mind.
You've got to find what you want, make the work smart and efficient, and then push the motherfucking pedal to the motherfucking floor and WIND OUT THE FUCKING ENGINE LIKE YOU'RE A BAT OUT OF HELL until everything in front of you has been obliterated, and everyone around you is far behind. I speak allegorically, of course, but this is the feeling of drive. A person who is truly driven....Whatever is in front of them will be no match for their resolve, at the end of the day. That, to me, is truly working hard and truly working smart. THERE'S GOT TO BE A PURPOSE AND A PASSION. THESE ARE ONE AND THE SAME.
One step (the most important part of this whole post).
It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But have you really thought about this? IT'S A GUARANTEE! In life, guarantees are virtually unheard of. When I was working as a barman last year at my buddy's place across town, I used to skip taking a cab home late nights sometimes and just hoof it. It's not a short walk. It takes the better part of an hour to complete the trek. What I noticed one night in the midst of one of the those walks, was the "guarantee" of each step.
With each step I take, I realized, I am guaranteed to be one step closer to my destination. This was a powerful revelation for me, and continues to be so as it unfolds. Think of it. With each small micro-move you make toward your goals, you are guaranteed (as much as life can offer a "guarantee") to be that one micro-move's distance closer. In other words, you don't need to win the lottery. Fuck the lottery. It's a scam, anyway. Just set your direction, start walking, and you are instantly closer to your destination. Fuck "destiny." DESTINATION. It is literally impossible for you to not make progress. If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, pretty soon you will find you are farther than you ever thought you could go.
Of course, life throws unexpected things at us. Life throws tragedy at us. Life turns around. That's inevitable, right? But so what? It is impossible to predict, and while you have life, you ought to live. While I can take steps. While I can run. That is what I will do. I can adapt if something changes. I am guaranteed to go nowhere if I don't move, but if I work hard, work smart, and position myself consistently one step after another, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO END UP WHERE I STARTED.
~KafkA
(All photos in this post free use from Morguefile.com)
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)