Turning Hard Work Into Smart Work
In thinking about the title of this article, I had to examine what the term hard work means to me. How working hard has been ingrained in me from early childhood. Was it the way my father worked as an educator and a coach? Or was it the way my grandfather worked on his farm? Or the way my grandmother supported our family? I decided my work ethic is a learned trait. I also will go as far as to say that the experiences that you have in life will make or break you. Make you stronger or put you under. During the summer months my sister and I would venture to the lake house to stay most of the summer with my grandparents. These are vivid memories for me. About the time I was eight or nine, I began getting up with my grandmother very early in the morning, sometimes 5:00 a.m.- I would always wake up to the sounds of my grandmother clanking a glass with the ice cubes she tried to carefully place in it. This happened everyday. We would gather at the kitchen table. I would sit with her while she drank her 6 ounce Coca-Cola and smoked her first cigarette of the day. We would sit there a couple of hours debating world issues. My grandmother was very wise and always taught me that I could do anything..... She said, aim and shoot for the moon, and if you hit a star, it's ok, but keep aiming for the moon.
Hard work and smart work to me also can be defined by how well you get along with others who occupy this world with you. How you work with others also is a learned trait. My father also defined it for me by telling me that winners never quit and quitters never win.
As I examine the term hard work, I also have to examine what my personal mission is in life. How can I make a difference in the world? What does the big picture look like? What is my vision for the future? And in that same realm, who within my network can help me achieve my personal mission? What does my current network look like? How do I grow my network? I came into this world networking, had to, I was a coach's daughter and all that entailed. Football and basketball games were a way of life. I was forced into social situations by the very nature of my circumstances. My grandmother also thought it was good idea for me to take dancing lessons, so beginning at age 3, I was in classes twice a week. Again, forced to make friends and socialize. By second grade, I thought I had it made, I had my network of friends and we did everything together, even performed in school plays. Before the end of the year that year, I found out I would be moving to a small town, I was devastated, I had this network, what was I supposed to do? I can't leave. When I moved away, I had to begin networking and making a whole new set of friends. Which I did. I survived. The skills I learned from my earlier in childhood have allowed me to perfect my networking skills. To this day, I have intentionally at times, placed myself in new situations just to build up my network.
My later life experiences along with the earlier ones, have made me realize that it's not about me, but it's about we. It's about how we all (I am speaking in global terms) work together and work smarter and harder to make a difference in the world in which we live. How can we embrace our culture and integrate it with other cultures to achieve this mission for people in the here and now, and for those of future generations.
Working harder to work smarter, to make a difference.
Hard work and smart work to me also can be defined by how well you get along with others who occupy this world with you. How you work with others also is a learned trait. My father also defined it for me by telling me that winners never quit and quitters never win.
As I examine the term hard work, I also have to examine what my personal mission is in life. How can I make a difference in the world? What does the big picture look like? What is my vision for the future? And in that same realm, who within my network can help me achieve my personal mission? What does my current network look like? How do I grow my network? I came into this world networking, had to, I was a coach's daughter and all that entailed. Football and basketball games were a way of life. I was forced into social situations by the very nature of my circumstances. My grandmother also thought it was good idea for me to take dancing lessons, so beginning at age 3, I was in classes twice a week. Again, forced to make friends and socialize. By second grade, I thought I had it made, I had my network of friends and we did everything together, even performed in school plays. Before the end of the year that year, I found out I would be moving to a small town, I was devastated, I had this network, what was I supposed to do? I can't leave. When I moved away, I had to begin networking and making a whole new set of friends. Which I did. I survived. The skills I learned from my earlier in childhood have allowed me to perfect my networking skills. To this day, I have intentionally at times, placed myself in new situations just to build up my network.
My later life experiences along with the earlier ones, have made me realize that it's not about me, but it's about we. It's about how we all (I am speaking in global terms) work together and work smarter and harder to make a difference in the world in which we live. How can we embrace our culture and integrate it with other cultures to achieve this mission for people in the here and now, and for those of future generations.
Working harder to work smarter, to make a difference.
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