“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” -Bill Gates
It is absolutely essential for the advancement of civilisation that we find new better ways of doing our work.
We’ve been brainwashed to ‘work hard’ from childhood and let me say this knowing full well that some of you will probably ‘strongly disagree’. However, consider this:
- Hard work is known to create heart attacks, ulcers, alcoholism, drug abuse, broken families, insomnia, and many other health challenges.
- Yes, there is nothing wrong with hard work and long hours per se – if you don’t mind sacrificing your health, your family life, and your spiritual evolution.
- The world is full of hard workers yet there are very few successful ones among them.
PYRRHIC VICTORIES
Ever heard of the Pyrrhic Victories? Pyrrhus (Greek king) was a great general who fought the Romans and his army won the war but he lost so many men it might just as well have been a defeat.
A Pyrrhic victory takes a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement. And it is also likely that most of us have at some point or other achieved a victory, and, rather than reveling in our success, have had to ask ourselves… ‘I’ve won but at what price?’
So although someone has won or gained something, they have also lost something which was worth even more.
I hate to say this (I love Apple products) but Steve Jobs last words on his deathbed reflected the above. He died at 56 of pancreatic cancer with a net worth of 7 billion dollars. Maybe you can learn something from him?
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter” – Francis Chan
People who espouse the virtues of hard work are doing a grave disservice to humanity because hard work can be destructive.
Don’t get me wrong – WORK IS ONE OF THE GREATEST BLESSINGS. Ask anyone who doesn’t have a job.
My work offers me the best available opportunity to grow personally, and offers others products and services that enhance their life experience. And it doesn’t get any better than that!
LEVERAGE
“Give me a lever long enough and fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world” – Archimedes
Finding a lever where we accomplish more by doing less is the key to success. There are people who wanted to make life easier for themselves. They wanted to do less and accomplish more. Think about it:
- The first person who thought of putting a sail on a boat wanted to get out of rowing.
- Whoever hitched a plow to an ox was looking for a way to escape digging.
- The clever man or woman who designed escalators and elevators so we wouldn’t have to climb up stairwells to the 40th floor. Or climb up Table Mountain to get to the restaurant.
THE PROBLEM WITH HARD-WORK
When you’re in a negative headspace I don’t care how good you are with your planning and calendar or to-do-list – things just don’t flow and you don’t get much done. So then we try hard to get results out of our hard work because that’s what we’ve been taught. We’re trying to fix our problem with too much action.
The truth of the matter is we’re really trying to compensate for our dysfunctional thinking or mind-set.
And because we don’t address our “thinking and feeling” we end up working harder and longer hours. And most of us are sloppy with our thinking then sloppy things start to happen in our day. For example:
- The traffic lights and traffic patterns that you driving in are against you – no matter how fast you drive you’re going to be late
- You can’t find a parking space
- The queue that you standing in at the supermarket is wrong because there is a new cashier and she doesn’t know what she is doing
- The people you’re meeting with are not keeping their meeting time of arrival
- Your timing is off and you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time
- In the meeting, you’re saying the wrong things at the wrong time
It’s your vibes, your energy, your mood, or attitude that needs to change.
Think about it. Are you struggling more than you need to? People appear to be walking around with intense looks of frustration on their faces. Modern life is so much about The Struggle. What would happen if you relaxed into what you are doing and stopped struggling so hard?
TUNED IN – TAPPED IN – TURNED ON
When I’m tuned in, tapped in and turned on and holding my mood, my attitude, my vibration or frequency powerfully then the magic begins. Then the traffic lights are in my favour; I’m in the right supermarket queue; I have good timing (good time management – I’m no longer a firefighter); I find the perfect parking space; I’m at the right place at the right time, I say the right things at the right time at home and at work.
As Goethe said so beautifully: “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. ”
WISE GUYS
- “No great intellectual thing was ever done by great effort; a great thing can only be done by great men and he does it without effort.” – John Ruskin
- “Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things toward you. Allow your love to nourish yourself as well as others. Do not strain after the needs of life. It is sufficient to be quietly alert and aware of them. In this way, life proceeds more naturally and effortlessly. Life is here to Enjoy!” – Maharishi
- “Keeping the mind happy makes work effortless. This is the skill for productivity!” – Sri Ravi Shankar
- “The less the effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.” – Bruce Lee.
- “My idea of beauty is somebody that doesn’t have to try too much, someone who is effortless and fresh.” – Jessica Ennis.
