The Surprising Truth About Hard Work

August 3, 2022

Where did we learn work had to be hard ?

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, hard work was ingrained in us. It was expected you work hard to get results. The contrast was laziness and sloth. And there was no room for that.

But working hard and hard work are not the same.

hard-work-and-working-hard

Maybe I’m slow to the party but it’s taken me a long time to really get this. When you’re in the flow and doing what you love, work is not hard.

I heard the esteemed (wine and media) entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk answer a question recently;
“Did you have to sacrifice a lot to get to where you are?”
“Yes and no,” he responded.

Because he loves business like some people love sailing or golf, spending time working and solving business problems is his happy place.

And there was a sacrifice to that. He missed time with his kids when they were young but created a different reality for his parents as a result, so it was an intended trade-off he’d make again.

passion-changes-work

Importantly, you don’t have to get it right straight out of the box. Tapping into your passion can come anytime or change as your interests and priorities shift.

Take the story of Kate Reid. With an aerospace engineering degree from Cranfield University in the UK, Kate worked in Formula 1 Racing all over the world for years, before realising her heart wasn’t in it.

In a whirlwind career change, she decided to do something completely different. She approached one of the most esteemed croissant artisans in the world, Christophe Vasseur in Paris and asked to apprentice under him.

Remarkably, he said yes, recognising her passion and preparedness for commitment. She took the technical precision of Formula 1 racing and applied it to baking. Years later, her Melbourne bakery Lune was heralded by the New York Times as producing the best croissants in the world. (Fortunately for us, there’s now a bakery in South Brisbane too, so check it out!)

  • In the household you grew up in, was work regarded as a means to an end, or a creative expression?
     
  • How are you modelling work for those around you?

As you know, I used to be a property developer.  I now coach entrepreneurs to prosper from their passion.

Seeing a need to document emotion, I also write Postscripts to help people put into words what’s in their heart. (We often have so much depth to us, and life can teach us to say less rather than get it wrong).  This passion project never feels like work to me.

So today, start with what you love. When you’re doing what you love, time and commitment feel effortless.

Because life was meant to be easier.

Louise Fitzgerald-Baker Author

Written by Lou Fitzgerald-Baker

Connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Louise Fitzgerald-Baker Author

About Me

Hello I'm Louise Fitzgerald-Baker, Well-th Coach.

I help women close the gap between wealth and wellbeing.

Most of my career has been in the property sector where I saw a lot of wealth at the cost of wellbeing.

And on the flipside, I've met a lot of yoga and pilates instructors with wellbeing, but not a lot of financial security.

I've discovered there's a Wealth & Wellbeing Sweetspot.

Having found it, I now devote my life to helping others do the same.

Recent Comments

    You May Also Like…

    Still believe in romantic love?

    Still believe in romantic love?

    This story will challenge your assumptions about soul mates, age and passionate love. It’s the true story of Cynthia Rigg. She was 86 years old when she shared her life’s love story…

    Silence is Golden, or is it?

    Silence is Golden, or is it?

    I see the sad consequences of silence – the assumptions, misunderstandings and distance it can create. I am tracking the results of my Postscripters and time and time again I see relationships healed and blossoming as a result of the courage to communicate gently. Done respectfully, heartfelt words become a gateway to greater depth and intimacy.

    The Precious Art of Sacrifice

    The Precious Art of Sacrifice

    Recently I was working on a letter from a mother to her adult daughter. It was no Hallmark card. People think the alternative to a Postscript is writing a letter themselves. But in truth, the more popular alternative is to just say nothing. Terrified of saying the wrong thing, we avoid the topic (or the person) altogether. This can splinter the relationship and ultimately lead to it diminishing and breaking down.

    0 Comments

    writing-letters-legacy-letters

    How well-thy are you?

     

     

    What is the ONE THING you need to focus on to move forward?

     

    Take our 2 min Quiz to find out.

    Taking you to the Well-th Matrix Quiz now....