We all know that hard work pays off in the form of success. As the famous Thomas Edison quote goes “Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration”. The result of hard work is often incentive enough for us to pull our sleeves up and plug away at our goals.
Those who have achieved success often attribute their success to hard work, determination, and perseverance. People who changed the world were workaholics. Look at Martin Luther King Jr or Mahatma Gandhi. They all put in many hours more than a standard 40-hour week. The difference though is that their work is an extension of who and what they are. Think about those professional athletes who have achieved remarkable accomplishments. Consider the way they take care of their eating and sleeping habits. What about the time they spend in the gym, rehab and massage therapy? All of this is work.
Each hour of the day becomes an extension of what they are at their core: athletes who want to sweat, improve, and win. Hard work is not an option for these high achievers, it’s their default.
The current Men’s National Football Training squad has been taking place for about a month now. Sessions start at 9 am which means players from south travelling into Port of Spain leave home by 5 am to ensure they are at practice at least an hour in advance. They have been doing this three days a week in hope of securing something better for themselves and the team.
We can recall the story of Brian Lara going to the nets during a Test match simply because he wanted to be better prepared for the start or continuation of his innings. Dwight Yorke would do two hundred crunches in his hotel room a mere 30 minutes after completing the team’s training session during the 2006 World Cup campaign.
Some people can actually do 40 hours of good work in 40 hours and that is an amazing skill that usually comes with experience. For the rest of us, it usually takes 60 hours of work to get in 40 hours of great work output. That’s what it takes to achieve massive success. If you are going to put in enough time to change the world with your work, it has to be fun for you. It has to be filled with meaning. Otherwise, you won’t stick around long enough or move fast enough to make a lasting impact on your industry.
But remember, it is not always played. Achieving massive success always means very big sacrifices. If you are not prepared to do this then you are not prepared to achieve big successes. I spend most of my life going through a process of maturation, being aware and overcoming myself all the time. My goal is to create the best version of myself.
If you too have the desire within, then insatiable hunger cannot be satisfied with mediocre labour or lifestyle. Self-discipline through the body and giving up comfort are two key areas here. This year will make it twenty years I’ve been with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association as Senior Team press officer and now head of communications. I’ve been told by some that I have stayed there because I’m in a comfortable position. Just last week one former national player sent me a hate mail suggesting just that. And I had to laugh because truth be told, when you look at the chronicle of events over the past twenty years at the FA, one would have to be crazy to think this was a comfort zone. Sure there have been some great moments such as the 2006 qualification period but more than often there have been those of us who have given up comfort by putting ourselves through circumstances and might I say pain in seeking something better for the team, the organization, the bigger picture and in the process ourselves also.
When we set our hopes on something or take comfort in something, we're actually losing control over the process and start relying on an external factor, on things outside of us. Instead of realizing we should save ourselves, act as if our lives are in our hands, we are instead projecting the responsibility on an external factor. To hope we'll make it, to hope it'll be ok, to hope nothing will happen, saying things like: "everything is for the best", to be comforted in the suffering of others and so on, all of these are striping you away from your will and powers and making you weaker, making you afraid. You become a victim of your fears.
One of the things some will never tell you is that if you want to succeed, you need to learn as much as possible. Unlike the academic education which gives you nothing but rehashed information, you can spit out on a piece of paper and receive a grade, learning means taking the theoretic material in your field of expertise, and experimenting with it, trying to build new structures and initiating a personal learning process that will make you stronger.
Set your mind for a long hard process, give up on instant success, and prepare to build it brick by brick, with sweat and tears, sometimes lack of salaries and sheer will power. When you prepare yourself mentally and physically for a long term process you will be ready ahead of time to distribute your resources correctly. Let go of illusions such as 'I will get rich overnight', 'I will make my exit' 'I will be discovered' etc. These illusions withhold you from achieving your success and prevent you from knowing the truth about yourself.
EDitor's Note:
Shaun Fuentes is the head of TTFA Media. He is a former FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and currently a CONCACAF Competitions Media Officer. The views expressed are solely his and not a representation of any organisation.