If you are thinking … hard work how the heck is that a good thing. My guess is you would probably fail the marshmallow test too … in which case move along there is nothing to see here. If you like hard work please continue reading.

Those who get it will understand the value of hard work. This is especially true in a web x.0 world. One of my favourite entrepreneurial quotes is from local Ottawa Entrepreneur Aydin Mirzaee of Chide.it and it goes something like this “if it was too easy then anyone could do it.” There is a lot of wisdom in that statement and it highlights the key value underpinning hard work. Lots of people have ideas far fewer the passion and persistence to make them happen.

Both idea and easy are aptly four letter words. The difference between an idea and a successful business is a whole lot of well … you guessed it … hard work or execution. The only way to turn an idea into reality is to make it happen.

Hard work is the new competitive advantage. However much hard work you have had to put into something to make it work anyone with the same idea afterwards is going to have to follow in your footsteps. The harder you work and the more distance you put between yourself and the competition the greater the barrier to entry you have created.

There are two other awesome by products of hard work; serendipity and small victories. If you persist keep at it and continue to make progress I can pretty much guarantee that plenty of both will come your way. I love that Canadian Olympic commercial where the athletes say we create our own destiny and destiny didn’t get up for that 6am practice I did. The entrepreneur and hard work is the same thing. You create your own success and inevitably victories small and large.

Personally I find tremendous comfort in the phrase “if it were too easy anyone could do it.” Bring on the hard work baby.

Next post in the series – Small Victories.

Ian Graham

Filed under: Camp Culture, Entrepreneurship, Featured by Ian
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