Hard Workers Will Outcompete Smart Guys

It ain't what (or who) you know - it's what you do

I want to tell you a quick story about a kid too smart for his own good. I hope to use the story to illustrate a point about effort, and action.

In some ways, I won the genetic lottery. I can't run a 4.5sec 40, but I'm very smart. I learn, retain and apply knowledge quite easily. In school, I never studied, because I didn't need to. The first time I got less than 100% on a spelling test was a big deal. (It was 4th grade and the word, ironically, was "disappointed"; I added an extra 's'.) In high school I slept through most classes and got A's, except in biology - not because I didn't get it, but because the homework was part of our grade and I rarely did it. It wasn't that I didn't put effort into anything. I worked my tail off in soccer, cross country, track and swimming. I just didn't have to work hard to learn things - which in school is the standard for "accomplishment" - and so I didn't.

It wasn't until college that my complete absence of academic work ethic bit my butt. The Honors College booted me for a few C's in classes I often didn't even go to. After that, I upped my study and homework habits a bit, but only roughly to the minimum I needed.

I was trained early on to think that knowing things was tantamount to accomplishing things. So after college I didn't try really hard. I landed a good job, got a few promotions, got a better job, got a few raises. And there I was 5 years out of college and feeling like I should be in a better spot than I actually was. I had two problems. 1) I couldn't define what "better" meant because after landing my first job, I hadn't really set any goals and 2) because my goals (if they existed at all) were nebulous and vague, I wasn't working hard toward anything except work. I thought being really smart was enough to excel.

It isn't.

Knowledge alone gets you knowhere

Relying on brains alone is a recipe for mediocrity. How many of you are friends with this person: they read all the time - about everything. They can carry on an informed conversation on pop-culture, money, politics, history, psychology, science... and yet, they are in the same overall position as everyone around them - i.e., boring 9-to-5, student and consumer debt, etc. How many of you are this person? I've taken to calling this phenomenon as being trapped in "knowhere."

I don't think it's my place to pass judgment on such a person, I don't believe like some that anyone has a moral or social obligation to achieve their full potential. But as someone who inwardly felt he had the ability to excel and wasn't doing it, I now ask, why wouldn't you want to?

Best guess: Because while being smart might make things easier, it's still going to be a lot of work.

Excelling requires effort and action, no matter the field. Even more importantly, those who put in the effort and action behind their ideas WILL surpass those who have better ideas, but don't DO anything about them. You don't really know much of anything until your theories (or knowledge) clash with practice or application. This is as true in business as it is in military engagements. As German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke said: "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." Or in science, where theories are nothing more than theories until the effort is put in to experimentally validate them. And more often than not, that assumed "knowledge" is wrong and abandoned in the face of contrary empirical evidence.

If you are not providing the system that is your life with any inputs, you aren't going to get any outputs. No outputs not only means no progress, it also means no feedback. No feedback means no improvement. So the more action you take, the more opportunities you have to progress AND improve.

In addition, people who are taking action toward some goal often feel more fulfilled than those who aren't. Not feeling like you are living up to your own potential can be a true rot in the psyche. Especially if you see others succeeding while you have not taken action and think "well if THEY can do it, I certainly could". Setting goals is crucial to overcoming this. Working toward those goals will put others from your mind and leave you with a much greater sense of fulfillment and purpose even before you actually achieve those goals.

"Work harder, be smarter"

"Work smarter, not harder" is a great saying. But it is a prescription for efficiency of labor, using the minimum required effort to achieve a desired outcome. Nothing wrong with that, obviously. Just make sure you aren't using "working smart" as an excuse for not putting in the volume of action necessary to achieve your goals.

So if you are smarter than the average bear, don't rest on your laurels. Don't assume that because learning and knowing come easy to you that success will also come easily. It's a trap. Set high goals and pursue them aggressively. If you don't, I nearly guarantee one day you'll look around and you'll see many people around you who outworked you, having what you want - a business, being debt free, being their own boss, awesome car, free time, whatever it is. And then you'll be resentful. Either the right direction, at yourself, for letting the time slip by - or the wrong direction, at the people who outworked you.

On the other hand, if you're just an average bear, don't let that slow you down. Sure, many things might come easier to others than they do to you, but as I've been saying, that can be a huge advantage to you. Resistance breeds strength, in character just as in muscles. You've already had to work harder than others who coast by and that is a HUGE point in your favor. Use it.

And no matter where you think you are in terms of ability or intelligence, keep learning always. Just make sure you're taking action on the knowledge you gain, otherwise it's just a hobby.

 

Original article: http://www.trillionairesclub.net/smart-vs-work-ethic/