The Work That No One Sees

I was talking the other day with a friend of mine, and she asked me why some people create tremendous success, and other people don’t. After thinking about it for a minute, I told her a lot of it has to do with doing the work. Successful people do what others aren’t willing to do, and so they achieve results that others aren’t able to realize. 

Achieving success – however you define it – requires effort. Hard work. This is true whether we are talking about health, fitness, relationships, career or business. If you don’t get up every day, and put in the effort and the hours required to be in the top 5% in whatever is important to you, then you shouldn’t expect to achieve your desired results. Successful people do the work that no one sees, so they can achieve the results they envisioned all along.

Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver in NFL history. He won three Super Bowls, holds nearly every single season and career receiving record available, and is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards, receptions, and touchdowns. Rice also worked harder than anyone else in professional football. In the off-season, while most of the other players were relaxing and enjoying their time off, Rice worked out six days a week. He did cardio in the morning, running a hilly five-mile trail. Reportedly, he ran wind sprints up the steepest part. In the afternoons, he did equally strenuous weight training.

In every sport, you can find evidence of the very best players doing work that no one sees. Basketball players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant staying after practice and shooting a hundred free throws. Golfers like Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas hitting hundreds of chip shots a day from just off the green.

It doesn’t just happen in sports. Drew Dernavich, the most successful cartoonist for New Yorker magazine, also submitted more cartoons to the New Yorker than any other cartoonist. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, recently stated he has reduced his work schedule from 120 hours to a “more sustainable” 80 to 90 hours a week. Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist, reportedly practices 5-6 hours per day. Author Stephen King writes every day, even on Christmas Day. They do the work.

Here are a few questions that might help you on your success journey:

1. What is your desired outcome? What is the success you’re looking to achieve?
2. What’s the work you’re currently doing to achieve that success?
3. What is the work you could be doing, in order to achieve the results you want to create?

Resolve today to do the work – whatever that looks like for you. Work harder (and smarter) than anyone else, and you will achieve your desired outcome.