Working More and Working Harder – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

How does hard work keep our focus on progress over results?

Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash

Fear paralyzes us. It makes us think and overthink. An unfounded fear swirls around our worries, clouding our judgment and keeping us from solving our challenges. In my most uncertain moments I’ve found one way to cope: work more. My university’s motto, "Labor Omnia Vincit" (hard work conquers all), shaped my strategy of moving forward by focusing on progress over results. Results still matter, of course.

For me, trying to see the result in turbulent times is like sailing through fog, and the year usually flies by that way. We want to see the outcome when our attention belongs on small steps of progress. You reach the harbor one stop at a time, which is why having the controls to steer the ship is essential. By controls I mean being clear about the goals you want to reach.

I’ve often wondered whether life should be lived goal after goal, year after year. My answer so far is that discovering a Purpose in Life is essential, no matter what. To me it’s the goal of all goals. All of us (companies, organizations, people) need to know it. We’re all called to know why we’re here, so it becomes the master control. I’ve seen many companies and people with some idea of their why who still wobble at the first clap of thunder, let alone in the middle of a storm.

You can work, and work hard, but without goals and a purpose, what’s the point? Goals and purpose are a guide, the course charted for our ship from one point to the next. The ship moves through our work, and as we sail through problems and uncertainty we can "lose our bearings" and drift back and forth. Still, when you know where you’re headed, it’s easier to put your head down for a while, trust the work, work hard and let the results come.

The results will come, and the key to getting them is and always will be hard work. Working hard in difficult times isn’t easy, especially when doubt creeps in about whether you’re doing the right thing. So the key is to remember your purpose, and to be extremely disciplined about recalling it again and again, until every decision, however small, points the same way. Purpose always does one hard job: it sets the course whatever the circumstances. The next hard job is ours, so the magic can happen and the results can come. They always do.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. As in the past few weeks, I was traveling, and my VELA came down almost entirely to trying to read. Even so, I spent quality time with family, which counts as the L in Learning something, and enjoyed the sense of security I feel next to the people I love, especially my wife. I was also lucky to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend Alex. Happy birthday, my friend, and may God and life give you 100 more years.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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