Guaranteed success without lots of hard work

Ok, so one way to success is through lots of hard work. It takes a lot of time and energy and is not always fun.

Some argue that it's the only way and I do agree that action is required, but not necessarily hard work. Allow me to explain...

Definitions

For this article I am going to break the sentence down into two bits:

• Hard work
• Lots of it (implying lots of time and quantity of hard work)

There are two main points to this article, the first of which is a mindset change that some people would suggest changes very little (and I would argue changes everything), with the second being something that many would say is "easier said than done" - but I can assure you that making steps towards it will in itself help.

Replacing work with action

The first point is a mindset change.

Success does require action, but it doesn't necessarily need to be seen as "work". The word "work" implies something you need to do but don't want to do, something involving stress.

Whatever you are trying to achieve, in order to be successful, the very best way to approach it is to start by thinking about how you can achieve it in an exciting and enjoyable way. Plan out a personal journey to the successful end game you have in mind, and take action towards it.

If the action required to get there isn't "work", then you're more likely to do it too, because it's actually something you'll be motivated to do!

Working smarter, not harder

This is the "easier said than done" bit: instead of just doing something the way you've always done it, or seen others do it, take the time to step back and think about whether there's a better way...

Whether you've managed to change your mindset from work to action or not, if you have a set of activities that you need to perform to succeed, making the conscious effort to consider alternative approaches will be time very well invested if you can get it done in half the time.

Things to think about are:

• Do I really need to do this to be a success? (Can I just not do it? Often the negative impact of not doing something is a lot less than you think)
• Is this something I can get someone else to do? (There are some people who enjoy doing things you don't like to do - and more to the point who are better at it - so this is often a great option to speed things up and reduce the time you need to commit to something)
• Is it something I can automate? (Great for any repeatable tasks)

A good example of the automation point above is the contrast between service-based and product-based work. With service-based work, you are selling your time, so to be a success cannot be separated from the time you spend on work. In contrast, if you are a selling a product, it is possible to automate much of the sales and delivery lifecycle and minimise involvement in the process to maximise profit whilst minimising time spent.

Guaranteeing success without lots of hard work - wrapping it up

To summarise,

1. Replace "work" for targeted, productive "action" by making it a personal, enjoyable exercise
2. Question your approach and work smarter rather than harder to reduce the quantity of work and time needed to do it

As always, aside from specific success strategies around specific products and markets, success involves an investment, but it will not need lots of hard work if you approach it in the right way.