You’re Going to Learn What Hard Work Is All About

The Importance of Hard Work

Have you ever had those moments where you think you’ve made the wrong decision?

Me too.

When I left high school and started my career as a mechanic I thought I made the wrong decision of not going to university within the first 3 hours of my first day in the workshop.

It was not was I was expecting at all.

Emptying 60L drums of rubbish, sweeping floors, mopping floors, wiping down benches, putting tools away, emptying oil traps, putting spare parts away.

My back was covered in sweat, arms and hands sore and it wasn’t even 9 am.

This wasn’t the cruisy, laid back, fun job I thought I was hoping for.

By 6 pm, the end of my first day, my clothes were covered in engine and differential oil, my hands, arms and face looked fairly similar, I was physically aching all over, my feet unable to carry me, I was mentally exhausted and I just wanted to roll over and die.

And all I could think about was that I had to do it five more times until I could rest on Sunday.

This chapter of The Story of my Life isn’t about my days as an apprentice mechanic, it’s about the lessons hard work teaches you because I started learning them within my first 1 hour and they are lessons that I still use today as a marketer and content creator.

Before I get into lesson 1 I just want to tell you the common perception of what a lot of people see hard work as.

People often see the end result of hard work as the incentive for them to put our noses to the grindstone and work away to achieve their goals. 

But, there are more rewards to hard work besides the obvious that is often overlooked.

Here’s the importance of hard work.

Lesson 1: Hard Work Builds Mental Toughness

Something I got told by my former employer, a mentor was this “You don’t go home until the jobs are done”

I thought it was a joke… He wasn’t kidding.

I remember working until 10 pm, 11 pm all the way to midnight most nights to finish jobs I wasn’t able to finish during the day.

I wasn’t there that late because I had a lot of work to do, it was because I wasn’t sure how to do it and I would tend to give up very easily.

It’s like the instant gratification disease this generation suffers from over not being Instagram famous. I had the same disease from not being able to repair a car.

I remember feeling upset, I felt useless, disappointed, vulnerable, I felt like a failure, I got angry which led me to throw tools, scream, shout and swear.

But I couldn’t go home until the job was done, so I kept trying and trying until it was done.

Mental toughness means you’re able to control your emotions, compose and manage your thoughts in a positive way despite the situation you find yourself in.

Mental toughness involves more than just sheer willpower, it wants your hard work and commitment. It means establishing healthy habits and choosing to dedicate your time and energy to self-improvement.

At this point of the blog, it’s 10:49 pm on Wednesday the 18th of March. I still have 5 more lessons to get through, I’m tired but I can’t go home until the job is done.

And neither can you.

Lesson 2: Hard Work Leads to Self Improvement

I found that along with increased and improved mental toughness, hard work gives you chance after chance to continuously improve yourself. 

The importance of hard work forces you to develop self-discipline and focus. Which means you will become more efficient and productive in what you do.

With self- discipline and focus you’re constantly improving your current skills while developing new ones at the same time. 

Learning new skills can lead you down different paths towards new career opportunities you hadn’t previously considered.

Don’t believe me? There’s a reason why I was able to go from being a mechanic to a digital marketer and content creator.

Lesson 3: Hard Work Beats Talent

If you’re looking for a competitive edge over everyone else and a way to stand out and get noticed, hard work is your golden ticket. 

Hard work shows up more than talent any day in my opinion

Those who have achieved success often attribute their success to hard work, determination, and perseverance through the good times and the bad.

They appear to be talented, but really it’s hard work.

I built many cars during my time as a mechanic, some freaks of motoring nature.

The keys didn’t turn, the cylinders didn’t fire because of talent, the pistons started moving up and down because I was talented, I was never talented, I just showed up, put in the hard work, determined and persevered until the car fired up.

 The advantages go to the people who are willing and to dig deep and put in the extra effort, that’s part of the importance of hard work.

Work Harder.

Lesson 4: Hard Work Builds Confidence

You need to be able to believe in yourself and your abilities to achieve your goals. 

That’s why a key component of success is confidence. Hard work teaches you to have confidence within your skills and yourself through all the self- improvement you go through.  

It’s inevitable that everyone will experience setbacks along the journey, but the most important thing is having the fortitude to push through the tough times, learn from the experience and apply the lessons. 

Remaining bullseye on your goals through all the difficult and challenging times will build your confidence, it will make you resilient, bulletproof and equip you to deal with every new challenge you face. 

You’ll also have the confidence to then go after what you want, you’ll gain momentum and nothing will be able to stop you.

The overwhelming confidence I had to resign from my mechanics career to enter the unknown and believe that I could make it all came from the hard work.

Get confident.

Lesson 5: Hard Work Is Extremely Motivating

Another importance of hard work is increased motivation and inspiration. 

The satisfaction you’ll feel when you accomplish a task you have set yourself will leave you feeling a whole new sense of energy and focus for your next project.

Don’t believe me? Write a list of things you need to do on a given day, do the first thing on the list, take a red pen and cross it out, then let me know how you feel about doing the next thing on your list.

When I was building my cars I would leave a list of items that needed to be done on the hoist my car was parked on. 

It could go from fitting the exhaust headers to running new fuel lines to installing new gauges to monitor the cars changes. Everything to the last nut and bolt was added to the list.

Every time I overcame the challenges of completing one item on the list and crossing it off motivated me, even more, to do the next one no matter how challenging it was.

You inch closer to your goal and each step closer motivates you to take the next.

Keep stepping. 

Lesson 6: Hard Work Teaches Gratitude

I can tell you now that anyone who has experienced struggle can say how great it feels to overcome that struggle and succeed. 

And I can say that because I have been there before, and often visit it, the struggle and have overcome it all.

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t

Experiencing setbacks and struggle puts situations into perspective. 

Sitting on a crate looking at the car I just built after so many late nights and busted knuckles It became natural to feel grateful for the journey of building it, the experience, and the lessons learned from the hard work and determination of getting it finished.

Be Grateful.

This is The End

If it’s one thing I want to leave you with about the importance of hard work is this.

You have to go through some absolute shit to get to the good stuff and hard work is how you get there.

This generation is the instant gratification generation and they need to realise that there’s no quick way to the top of anything.

The only way to the top is starting at the bottom, working hard and climbing your way to the top gradually in no matter what you choose to do. 

Success in anything requires hard work, there’s no way around it but hard work rewards you with much more than just success. 

Hard work gifts you with a multitude of benefits that help you improve your skills and yourself and for that reason, hard work is worth the effort.

If you would like to read more about the story of my life for tips you can use to find the motivation or even direction in your journey then click here.