\n
That\u2019s right. I said it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Take one look at an old home video of me and you\u2019ll see a lanky, whiny, hazel eyed girl who just wanted to write poems and direct backyard plays.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
But when it came to hard work? Well, let\u2019s just say it was not my jam.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Fast forward a few decades: two brick and mortar businesses, a full time music career, which includes writing, singing, booking, marketing, posting, web design, creating, recreating, and branding, just to name a few, the building phase of a personal and professional development company, a podcast, a food blog, and a partridge in a pear tree.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
One could argue that I\u2019m a hard worker, and that wouldn\u2019t be untrue.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
But it\u2019s the getting here part that I want to talk about.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I wasn\u2019t a strong student. My report cards alone would show you that.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
It wasn\u2019t that I wasn\u2019t smart. I just couldn\u2019t be graded on my strengths, and unfortunately, you can\u2019t earn a degree in \u201cgreat ideas that come to fruition.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I didn\u2019t fully understand what I was capable of because I hadn\u2019t yet found the places where my strengths made sense.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I was creative. I was imaginative. I could see possibilities. I could gather people around an idea. I could create something in my mind and find a way to bring it to life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
But I didn\u2019t recognize those things as valuable skills.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
For a long time, I thought hard workers were simply born different.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
They were more disciplined. More focused. More organized. More motivated.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
They had something I didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
What I eventually learned is that hard work isn\u2019t always something you\u2019re born with.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Sometimes, it\u2019s something you build.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I didn\u2019t wake up one morning with a completely different work ethic. I developed it slowly through responsibility, necessity, curiosity, failure, opportunity, and eventually, purpose.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I learned that motivation might get you started, but it won\u2019t always show up when you need it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I learned that confidence doesn\u2019t usually come before the work. It grows because you keep showing yourself that you can do difficult things.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I learned that discipline isn\u2019t about becoming a person who loves every task. It\u2019s about learning to do some things even when they aren\u2019t your jam because they support something that matters to you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
And maybe most importantly, I learned that finding work connected to my strengths didn\u2019t make the work easy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
It made the hard parts feel worth doing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
So, how do you become a harder worker?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
1. Stop using your past as proof of your potential.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Your old report cards, unfinished projects, missed opportunities, or previous habits may tell part of your story, but they do not get to write the ending.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
You are allowed to develop skills you didn\u2019t have before.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
2. Learn how you work best.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Not everyone thrives in the same environment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Some people need structure. Some need creativity. Some need accountability. Some need deadlines. Some need quiet, while others come alive through collaboration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Hard work doesn\u2019t have to look the same on everyone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
3. Connect the work to something meaningful.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Purpose doesn\u2019t eliminate hard work, but it can give you a reason to keep going when motivation disappears.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Why does this matter to me?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Who could benefit if I follow through?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
What becomes possible if I don\u2019t quit?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
4. Keep small promises to yourself.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
You don\u2019t build discipline by waiting to feel disciplined.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
You build it every time you say, \u201cI\u2019m going to do this,\u201d and then follow through, even when the promise is small.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Small promises become evidence. Evidence becomes confidence.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Great ideas are exciting.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Finished ideas change things.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Not every project has to be perfect, groundbreaking, or life changing. Sometimes, completing something teaches you more than endlessly improving it ever could.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
6. Be willing to do the unexciting work.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Every dream comes with tasks that don\u2019t make the highlight reel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
There are emails, invoices, schedules, revisions, uncomfortable conversations, technical problems, and days when creativity simply doesn\u2019t show up.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
You don\u2019t have to love every part of the process.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
You just have to remember what the less exciting parts are helping you build.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
7. Give yourself credit for how far you\u2019ve come.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Sometimes we become so focused on the next goal that we forget to look back at the person who once wondered whether she was capable at all.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Hard work isn\u2019t always loud.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Sometimes it looks like trying again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Doing the thing before you feel ready.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Showing up when no one is watching.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Or refusing to let an old version of yourself decide what the current version is capable of becoming.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
I wasn\u2019t born a hard worker.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Not because I suddenly stopped being the girl who wanted to write poems and direct backyard plays, but because I finally realized she wasn\u2019t lazy or incapable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
She could see things before they existed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
She just needed time, experience, responsibility, and a reason to turn those ideas into something real.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/373132_f8ee1b889b664a59902ef01b5996f146~mv2.png\/v1\/fill\/w_49,h_41,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto\/373132_f8ee1b889b664a59902ef01b5996f146~mv2.png\")
<\/wow-image><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n