Hardwork vs Shortcuts

It's but a great joy to see that many things in life can be achieved with little bit of luck and lots of hard work. It quite a curious matter that in certain situation and plights, we may have to make use of shortcuts. Some might see that as a violation and as an unethical behaviour. But what if feel is that a shortcut that doesn't violate anything or that doesn't hurt anyone is somewhat acceptable. It's sort of a grey area and one that should be handled delicately.