Monday, January 19, 2009

Keys to Success: Be the Bee

This is the third in my ten part Keys of Success series. Every Monday we’ll feature another key.

There is no getting around it, success demands work – you can work hard, you can work smart, but you will work!

Hopefully, you are working at something you love and it won’t feel like work but at the end of the day, that’s exactly what it is. I love writing. I can come home after a full day’s work and write. It’s not a chore. It’s something I look forward to and it is something that gives me satisfaction, enjoyment and peace. Now, if you asked me to tend to a garden, research investment opportunities or knit a sweater, for me, that would be work! Even though, I know people who would absolutely adore doing each of those things.

If you want to be successful, it makes sense to create your success around something you enjoy doing, if for no other reason, because you will be doing it. If you want to be successful, work is an unavoidable consequence.

Recently, I went to pick up a prescription. While there, I asked the pharmacist about a new weight loss product. She told me of some very unpleasant side effects and then she said, “If there was a pill that made people shed pounds effortlessly and with no icky side effects, I wouldn’t be able to keep it on the shelves. At the end of the day, you have to eat less and move more. People don’t want to hear that but it’s true. If you really want to lose weight, you have to put in the work.”

Whether it’s weight loss, earning a degree or a promotion, learning a new language, the pharmacist’s words ring true, work is a critical requirement.

1 comment:

MoAfrika said...

Sistah, you are talking to me, the king of eloquent and convincing excuses, the avoider of work. Let me say this to your wise self - I hear you! Thank you and God bless.