The discussion of “success takes hard work” has been a central theme in this community for some time. Lately it’s reared its ugly head again

Many… many, many, many people are solidly attached to the belief that success takes hard work.  You see them offer that belief in a huge variety of belief statements presented as reality:

• Anything worth having is worth working for
• Success doesn’t come easy
• If you want to be at the top 10%, you have to do with 90% of the people in the world don’t do
• How bad do you want it?

And more (please feel free to add them to the comments section below — let’s out all of the common statements people use to justify working hard for success)…

Stop Focusing on Roadblocks; Start Focusing on The Way Forward

I’ve offered in other threads:

If [you’re] seeing only roadblocks and thus arguing that they are real – stop explaining what you see and start asking questions about what might be there. The more effort you put into explaining that things really are how you see them… the more you’ll miss the opportunities in between the mistaken certainties. ~ Mark Farmer

In another thread Jim D. offered:

Take a nail and lay it on a board.

Then step back and tell that nail to get into that board. Yell at it. Scream at it. Plead with it.

Hasn’t worked? Then try a different approach.

Stand there and believe the nail will get into the board. Tell yourself over and over that the nail is going into the board, the nail is going into the board…

Still not there? Well then how about doing this:

Walk over to the nail and the board. Pick up the nail. Place it against the board. Then pound the hell- out of it with a hammer.

Sometime the simplest, most direct approach, is the one that gets things done.~ Jim D.

To which I responded:

Does The Board Need to be Nailed Down at All?

Remember, [answers are] only as good as the question. Sometimes the question isn’t what’s the best way to get that nail in?  Sometimes, the question is, “Do I really need to nail that board at all?” ~ Mark Farmer

Does working hard to reach success work? Sure. And within a profoundly eloquent system that reinforces a person’s self-worth (albeit, built upon the shaky ground of  I’ve done something that was hard, therefore am worth more  aka:  I should be proud of my hard work … which misplaces the emphasis on hard work, instead of being proud of progress… or even more profoundly: growth).

Brute force is NOT the best, the fastest, the most efficient or the most eloquent solution to reach success.

The epitome of success, growth and even progress, CAN come easy. If a person will allow themselves to get out of the brute force/ success is hard paradigm.

The brute force paradigm and more important demonstration of easy success  came up in h20’s recent thread about working out:

I’ll be doing a week or two more of ‘beginner’ sessions. Besides, I figure I’m making progress [using easier workouts], so it wouldn’t hurt [to continue using them] anyway.~ H2o

I responded:

Yes. A huge YES. This is a mistake WAY too many people make — if you’re making gains off of a routine KEEP IT.~ Mark Farmer

Way too many people think that, if they’re making gains off of a little… they should add more. It’s the “this has to be hard to succeed” mentality (the same mentality I’ve been discussing with Jim D.) and it bites them in the !@#$.

More Force Is Rarely the Answer

Use what works. If you’re getting good gains off of “just a little effort”… KEEP IT THERE. Sometimes, “more effort” does NOT equal better . In fact, IMHO the goal should be as large of a success as possible with as LITTLE effort as possible. 

The beginning of the equation is the realization that the success you are looking for is right under your feet. It is not out there, it doesn’t take work and you don’t need to struggle. Trust that it is there and begin looking for evidence of it.

Begin questioning your reality, because the more profound realization than the idea that you should just pick up a hammer and begin pounding away is that maybe you don’t need to nail the board at all.

Build a multi-million dollar business? Build a healthy, powerful body? Build a profoundly nurturing and passionate relationship? Perhaps the answer isn’t working hard. Perhaps the answer is letting go of struggle.

Take the first step: allow success to come easily to you.

Keep reading for Part II

~ Mark

Copyright © 2000, Mark Farmer. Right to reprint automatically granted as long as accompanied by this notice and live Web link to http://LifeSuccessEngine.com