I have to break it to you.
Sometimes youâll work hard and get nowhere.
I know, itâs the most frustrating thing but to us students, it happens 90% of the time repeatedly for 16+ years.
No matter how many times you meet with the teacher, go to office hours, beg them with home made brownies, beg the counselour, retake the tests, meet with your counselor, ask your parent to write a recommendation and praise letter, you still get that stinking grade that doesnât represent what you know or what youâve put in.
If you were born yesterday, the message is: life isnât fair.
And for those who are asking, yes, I did do all of those things to my teachers. Some may or may not have worked but majority of the time, they are a waste of time.
Yet what does work is negotiation. I shouldâve learned that earlier in life.
Unfortunately school doesnât teach us the necessary skills in life which include:
-Negotiation-everything in life is negotiable, including your salary
-Financial literacy-BIG TIME, YOU KNOW IT
-Mental and physical health, the older we get, the more we sit, eat junk and take care of others instead of ourselves. Be selfish more often in order to be the best version of yourself
-Networking and Connections-almost daily at least 50 people DM me on LinkedIn and ask for a referral for the first time. How would you feel if someone approached you never meeting you and asking for a job? Itâs like marrying a stranger! People need to think from the other personâs POV pls!
I thought all of this was common sense but apparently not. Institutions, teachers and banks donât have the right intentions and have no incentive to make us successful.
Just think about it.
A bank is willing to give out loans to people who cannot afford them a.k.a the Housing Crisis of â08 just to rip them off and make more money off of them when they get into debt.
Institutions and colleges are the perpetrators within the student loan crisis, only increasing the rate of education each year with no extra ROI. Teachers donât bother teaching more innovative, current subjects because they donât want to improve or learn about a different industry. Itâs easier for them to teach what theyâve been doing for the past 10 years so their interests are put first.
Just like it takes Congress almost a year to pass a Covid Relief bill for 100+million struggling unemployed Americans, it takes any educational institution to amend, vote, etc. a new 45 min class on an important subject a few months to pass.
Work Hypothesis
So where is our work going if itâs wasted in subjects that most likely donât have any relevance to what we do?
What if we could do more in less time and become more efficient with working 10x less and still learn 10x more?
Is that possible?
Maybe not in the classroom where memorization is at the core and failure is banned but in the real world, thatâs no problem.
In order to truly learn the most, you have to:
-Either teach someone the subject
-Apply the knowledge by experimenting and testing it out yourself
-Making mistakes
-Not acting like the smartest in order to learn
-Being 100% embarrassed with no knowing anything
-Failing because its a privilege
-Not repeating what you did before
-Only taking control of whta will help you not slow you down
-Block out the noise
Hardest Towards the Hard
Everyone works hard in their own way.
It took me a few years to realize this:
The easier/simpler something looks, the more work, time, sweat and tears was put into constructing it.
If something looks messy, as if it was done in 5 seconds, it probably is.
It takes time to perfect something into a delicate craft.
What does this mean?
The shorter, more concise, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) framework you can implement into something, the more people will enjoy and actually use it.
Donât waste peopleâs time, so make things easier for them to read, utilize and work with.
But what comes after implementing these techniques?
Does the work get harder?
Oh no.
Only harder and thatâs what you must sign up for to become a real legend.
Those who are truly committed work for free, no results and no fame.
They do it because they enjoy the bumps and hurdles of the ride.
After all, the journey is usually the best part, just like on vacation.
The anticipatory feeling always rules the end destination.
Implementation
As stated earlier, some times and many times, especially when you are young, you will have to work for free.
You wonât get compensated, you will work in order to gain experience and it might not even go anywhere.
But if you do end up working hard, where does it lead up?
Well, most people think happiness is down the road.
Yes and No.
If you find it in yourself, curate your craft towards bettering the world and supporting people, then yes.
If you build something and use those funds to buy yourself material possessions, then no.
Itâs all relative.
Happiness is made from the inside.
I know.
This style of writing isnât typical for me but thatâs exactly why I brought it to you.
We have our intentions about hard work all wrong.
It is centered around salary or happiness, not both.
Itâs important to seek your own happiness. You control what you feel, say, do, act and what you project into your mind. You will make money that way.
Those who cannot find or earn money donât know who to ask.
They donât have a support system and cannot provide consistent value to the world that isnât robbing their time.
Itâs rare to be rich and the happiest. More often than not, those with less are happier because they have a goal and hopeful purpose backing them up not a golden toilet.
Work for free in order to learn, work on yourself (the best investment) and become self aware of what you are putting the most energy into in order to set yourself up for success down the road.