I love the cliché line: cream always rises to the top. What does that tell me, well it tells me that if work my @$$ off right now, I’ll be able to get ahead of my competition.  For example, I work very hard to make this blog famous. I recently encountered a few opportunities to do some guest posts for very big time bloggers. That’s an amazing win just 3 weeks after launching persuasive.net.  I say this to you not to gloat, but to say that hard work pays off eventually. I’m certainly not happy with my results, and you shouldn’t be happy with whatever results you have for whatever you’re doing.  Being complacent will hurt you in the long run.

Work harder and smarter

If you work in a field where your pay is determined by the actions you take, you should be spending a minimum of 15 hours each day on work related activities.  This doesn’t necessarily mean being at work, it could mean sharpening your skills, studying your competition, or even studying your own product.

Don’t be:

1. Complacent
2. Arrogant
3. Egotistical
4. Selfish
5. Greedy
6. Desperate

Be:

1. Grateful
2. Excited
3. Enthusiastic
4. Helpful
5. Passionate
6. Interested
7. Adventurous
8. Authentic
9. Ambitious

Changing your perspective can make a great difference at how you communicate to yourself based upon the outside influences you face every day.  If you start acting on the ‘words’ from the ‘be’ column, you’ll be able to attract the right series of events that can take you to the next level.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

If you can work hard for the next few years, eliminate or cutting down on irrelevant social life to be richer than your wildest dreams, would you do so? If your social life is too dear to let go, change it up.  Instead of just hanging out with people, hang out with people you can potentially benefit from.  I don’t mean take advantage of people, look to create mutual business relationships.

This whole post should hopefully get you to understand that you probably aren’t working hard enough.  It is more difficult out there to make a buck, but with hard work and perseverance you’ll be able play harder than ever later.  Hold of on playing right now and let’s get to work.