Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 19, 2005 Marketing Today Redefine what you think work is Anthony Hernandez Imagine two identical piles of dirt that must be moved an identical distance. Person A uses a kiddy shovel and takes all day. Person B uses a tractor and moves the entire pile in one scoop. Question: Who did more work? At least 80 percent of the people I ask say Person A. I believe this occurs because we tend to equate “work” with “effort.” Physics, however, defines work as results. Both people, therefore, did the exact same amount of work. The difference is that one struggled while the other obtained results with ease. Society conditions us to define work as struggle. We are expected to spend 40-plus years in a job with the goal of amassing enough money to live out our few remaining years in some semblance of comfort before departing this world. Talk about slavery! Even worse, self-employed people who struggle in their businesses are even more deeply indentured. Workers can quit and find a new job whenever they want. Walking away from a business isn’t as easy. I’ll bet some of the people you know succeed at everything while others crash and burn no matter what they try. Luck? Does God, the Universe, or karma favor some over others? No. Everybody has the same potential for success, the same chance to accomplish anything they want in life. The key lies in our beliefs. The physical world we see, smell, hear, touch and taste is nothing other than the sum of our perceptions filtered by our beliefs. I’m sure you’ve heard the maxim that 20 people witnessing the same event will provide 20 different accounts. If you believe that success requires working a job for 40 years, then you will get a job. Forty years later, tired and spent, you’ll have achieved your result: a short time of relative leisure before death. Die too soon and you’ll leave behind some of the resources you spent your entire life creating. Live too long and you’ll expend your resources and die with nothing. How’s that for depressing? The mechanics of this phenomenon are quite simple: Whatever one invests energy in grows. Invest energy in the idea that work equals struggle and struggle you will. What about you? If you think that you “work hard” or have feel that you can’t or shouldn’t do something because it’s “too hard”, then you define work as effort. I’ve lost count of the entrepreneurs I’ve met who feel absolutely overwhelmed because they’re struggling just to stay afloat, much less thrive. These unfortunate souls desperately want more from their businesses but dread the thought of thrashing even harder in the murky waters of their own making. If this describes you or someone you know, then I have wonderful news: It doesn’t have to be like this. There is a better way. Today I am challenging you to stop defining work as effort and embrace the scientific definition of work as output. Quit focusing on the effort and start focusing on the results you want. Do that and you will struggle a lot less while getting far better results far more easily. And why not? If you’re in business then your business should be serving you, never the other way around. Freeing yourself from the “work equals struggle” trap is as easy as divorcing yourself from the idea that struggle is necessary and that the way you have been doing things is the only way there is. This can be difficult because nobody wants to admit being wrong. I see it this way: Your current methods have served you admirably because they delivered you to this exact point in your life. Sure, they may need some updating, but that doesn’t make you wrong. Think about your childhood. Were you wrong for using diapers and crawling on the floor, or did you simply outgrow those habits? There is nothing whatsoever wrong with growth. Next, examine your goals and seek the easiest ways to accomplish them. Be creative! Having defined your destination and the easiest way to get there, proceed in small simple steps being absolutely sure to reward yourself for every single step. The destination is nice, but never forget that life is a journey that you can choose to enjoy ... or not. The payoff can be nothing less than spectacular. A contractor I know tripled profits while working 25 fewer hours per week. A healthcare franchisee expanded by 80 percent while trimming 15 hours from her weekly schedule. Another person experienced greatly reduced stress levels just by carving out one hour of personal time every morning. There is no reason why your results can’t be just as good or even better. Define work as results and seek ways to obtain the results you want with ease and you’ll soon be struggling a lot less while reaping far more abundant results and enjoying life’s journey far more. That’s a promise. What would you like me to write about? Don’t worry, I’m not running out of steam — far from it. But for this column to have the greatest possible value, it must address topics of interest to you, my readers. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with your ideas and suggestions. My invitation for you to schedule a free session with me is always open and there is never any obligation. You may also visit me on the Web at www.coachanthony.com. Here’s wishing you and your loves ones a blessed and safe Thanksgiving. Anthony Hernandez is a local business consultant with more than 19 years of business and marketing experience. He lives in Ashland with his wife Robyn, son Logan, and their three dogs. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams