I was 17 and had no work experience whatsoever. To say the least I wasn’t at the very top of every employer’s wishlist so because I wanted to get money and I wanted to get it as soon as possible before I started college, I decided to go to work at the nearby clothing warehouse. It was a very physically taxing job with long hours inside a hot humid cramped space with no windows. Yet it provided me with powerful insights that I believe can only be seen in these tough environments. Even the worst surroundings can bring the best lessons so here goes….
1. Don’t Work Hard, Work Smart
You can aim your bow and arrow and shoot as many times as you’d like but if you’re not even pointing in the right direction, what’s the point? I’ve noticed recently how many people feed into the belief that as long as they work hard at anything, they will acquire riches! I’m here to tell you that this is absolutely wrong!
Let me tell you why…
On my second week working at this warehouse I met an older man who told me a bit of his life story. He told me how he came to this country with the desire to be considerably wealthy. He worked all over the country doing odd jobs and putting in backbreaking hours. Yet as he said this to me, he quickly acknowledged that he was still in the same position as he was years ago…
Before I go on, I am NOT saying to be lazy, you MUST take massive action but it must be in a way that is both effective and precise to what you want to achieve. Work Smarter!
- Set a specific goal and reverse engineer your way there. A person who wishes to be a billionaire goes about his day a bit differently than the person who only wishes to be a millionaire.
- Optimize your time, energy, and willpower because are these limited resources in your day! Simply hack away at the unessentials. If it is not serving your purpose, then remove it.
And if you’re wondering whether or not you’re working smart enough, ask yourself this at any point in your day:
Is this helping me move towards my goal?
2. Don’t forget to Laugh !
Tape box. Put label. Stack on pile. Look at clock. Repeat
This pretty much accurately summarizes my workweek. I was stuck doing the same repetitive motions over and over again until I noticed that many of my coworkers didn’t seem as miserable as I was. Instead, they were cracking jokes every now and then and laughing at the absurdity of the situation they would find themselves in. Soon I began to join in the fun and adopt this mentality of seeing the humor in everything.
The power of self amusement is absolutely essential when it comes to making it through those situations that are just plain boring and you can’t wait to get out of (you know what I’m talking about). It’s during these times, that laughter shifts your mood and brightens your spirits to help you make it through even the roughest day.
3. You only do what you believe you MUST DO
This is something that I found absolutely fascinating, no one ever complained. They just did it. Of course, they knew that if they didn’t, they would be easily fired and replaced but this was only part of the picture.
They had a strong WHY
They knew they had to feed their families. It was not only something they knew they had to or something they should do, it was something they had to do. There was no other option but to bring in the bread and let me tell you, that alone kept their bodies moving and mind focused on the task at hand for hours.
I’ve noticed that whenever I failed to complete something, it all came down to not having a big enough WHY. It should be something strong enough to move your body into action with full force and no hesitation.
Keep a vision in your mind of that which you want and let the emotions of happiness from receiving that result engulf your body. This alone is powerful because it is well known that it is not logic that moves people but emotion. When you see the joy and excitement of receiving something, you can’t help but move twards that direction. Conversely, if you think of the worst case scenario, you will let that fear push you to avoid it at all costs. It is human nature to be moved much more by fear than by any other emotions. Use both of these and you will be an unstoppable force!