Smart Work + Hard Work = Diligent Work and Luck…More on Productive Effort

Proverbs 13:4; “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (NIV)

As I pointed out previously, putting forth productive effort takes more than hard work. In fact if we don’t avoid time wasters like excessive talk, excuses, setback paralysis and thinking we have all the answers, our work becomes hard and it becomes harder and harder to work hard…confused yet?

In other words if we don’t learn how to work smart we will never be able to reap the benefits of hard work which is paramount in generating productive effort and in turn generating productive results..

I’m sure you’ve all witnessed someone who works endlessly but never gets anything done. People who “work” like this become no more productive than the ‘sluggard” Solomon refers to in Proverb 13. The word “diligent” is used to counter “sluggard” in the Proverb above and diligent as defined in Webster’s means “steady, earnest, and energetic application and effort. It means working smart and working hard.

The legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said; “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” I’ve read some of Wooden’s books and he was the best at working efficiently and diligently. John Wooden was the best at working smart and this enabled him to work even harder. The results of John Wooden’s work in college basketball will most likely never be eclipsed. He is the greatest of all time. (Whether you like basketball or not, I suggest you read Wooden’s book “Wooden On Leadership.”)

We’ve all heard the cliches, “practice makes perfect,” “you get what you work for,” “no pain no gain.” Working hard is the key ingredient in creating productive effort. Combining working smart with working hard is the absolute formula for consistenly generating diligent work effort and productive results.

I became a pretty good basketball player because I was diligent in practicing daily. I am a pretty effective husband and dad because I work at it every day.

I got sober and stayed sober and have a recovery ministry today not only because of the love and grace of God but because of the work I put forth in staying sober. Back in late 1987, during my first 90 days of sobriety, I attended 120 AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings and went to 40 counseling sessions…amazing what a life and death proposition does to your work ethic. 🙂 I continue to “work” my recovery program on a daily basis as I know my ability to work diligently and generate productive effort begins and ends with my sobriety. What is interesting to me is that during my addiction years I had a string of “bad luck” that I’ve never experienced again in my life. Of course the only thing I was working hard at in those days was staying high.

Putting forth productive effort is a process and not an event. The best way to see whether or not you are working diligently is to measure how smart and hard you are working.

Keep a log for a couple of weeks and document the time you spend in “time wasters” like nonsensical talk, web surfing, facebooking, T.V. watching etc… Write down everytime you verbalize an excuse or tell yourself you just can’t do it. Then keep track of how much time you spend learning and being teachable, and how much time you are “working” at whatever your goal is.

The combination of eliminating time wasters, excuses and procrastination caused by setbacks, with an attitude of teachability and a willingness to work, will not only generate productive effort and positive results but lots and lots of luck. Good Luck!

P.E.A.C.E.

Jay@EagleLaunch.com

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