Nobody cares how hard you work. I know it may be harsh to hear this, but it is the honest truth. So many people wear their hard work like a badge of honor, myself included.

Growing up one of six kids in an Irish Catholic family where my dad worked three jobs and operated on fumes most days, I felt like our limited time for conversations during my early, formative years consisted of some rendition of “hard worker,” work hard and the like.

Just seeing this sounds exhausting, heavy and, well, hard.

I find that people who feel the need to tell everyone how hard they work are really just not working smart.

When you  operate from a structure of organization and unrelenting focus on results vs. tasks, people know how intentional and focused you are (vs. working hard). And when you are not in consistent communication with your clients to provide a status on the work you are doing for them, including where it is in your process and what they can expect in regards to updates and delivery, you feel like you’re sucking, and then you overcompensate with some statement under the umbrella of “we’ve been working hard.”

That sounds like you’re either moving concrete all day, or the work is hard because you don’t know what you’re doing (lack of process).

Working hard is counterproductive language and mindset. It doesn’t communicate plan, process, proactiveness, intentionality or focus. It sounds very reactive.

The need to communicate how hard you are working typically comes from an internal feeling, like you are sucking every day. It lands like you’re making it up as you go, reacting to whatever the day throws at you or procrastinating, to name a few issues.

The truth is, people aren’t very impressed by your story of how hard you work or how busy you are.

Think about it: You’re at a networking event. You’re in a circle with two others. One is sharing the story of his business: Sooooooo very “busy,” slammed with work and without any team, but he making $1.5 million a year. He looks exhausted, he is all over the place with his thoughts and he barely can complete a sentence. His conversation is all about the current soup he is drowning in. The next person shares how she works 30 hours a week, has two team members and generates $1 million a year. Her cadence and focus is very intentional. She has an ease and glow about her. She talks about ideas for future projects she wants to work on and build.

I tend to find people are more apt to follow those who are living (and building) an intentional life that is based on ease, joy and consistency. The dog days of “hard and heavy” are no longer appealing. They are no longer impressive.

What type of story are you living? What type of story do you want to be living? They say you’re the sum of the five people you surround yourself with. What type of entrepreneur do you want to surround yourself with?

If you’re interested in learning how to enroll others into your vision so you can dump the “hard worker” way of business, schedule a FREE 30-minute call to help get you started: Click Here

Molly Hall

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