The currency of hard work .: The cost , the benefit and the importance of strength

I have always been a believer in hard work . It has been ingrained in me since I was young that achievement doesn’t come without it and I have learned that who be become is in the practice of it .

I watched my parents work hard every day . My father would leave early and get back late and even when home would be working on something . He rarely complained though I could see when he was tired and stressed . He’s an engineer so his default is always to build . Positive by nature and a true giver . My mother too worked full time as a school secretary . She was good at that kind of thing but I’m still convinced she took the job to keep an eye on me and my brother . They worked hard , built a home , gave us a great childhood and I never once saw them fold on their principles or compromise their integrity . Solid people .

That kind of influence is fortunate and I’m blessed to have lived in its presence . I know it now of course more than I knew it then . They weren’t crafty , they didn’t “work the system” or make excuses . They just worked hard, wasn’t what they could and were responsible with their money . Never wealthy but never broke .

It was of course a different time . Maybe the best time to have lived that kind of life . I’m not sure my generation will have pensions or savings and I’m pretty sure my kids generation won’t . The 20th century built the middle class . The 21st century seems to want to destroy it . It’s a tough reality to be faced with .

With the stakes so high and the risks so great it’s never been more important to be strong . Your resolve will be tested constantly . Strength of character and of practice are our greatest weapons in the war for financial freedom and independence and you will ask yourself “is hard work enough “

There have been many weeks , many months where Emylee and I have felt we have worked incredibly hard . Long days , meetings , fires to put out , problems to solves, payroll to make , rent to be , taxes to pay …. The list goes on and a business owners life can fast turn in to a 24/7 hurricane if you are not careful . If you thought the sum of this work equity resulted in financial success … then I have bad news for you .

It often doesn’t . Hard work is not a guarantee of anything . It’s in our nature to do it and I’m not sure we are capable of living any other way but we have been down this road long enough to know that sometimes survival is the best we can hope for . The reward is simply the opportunity to keep going , to keep fighting for the chance to serve and make a difference .

So if hard work doesn’t necessarily equal financial reward then why do it ? Because I believe , for most people it’s the only way we can be happy .

Money that has not been earned and worked for can feel pretty meaningless . I know a lot of miserable rich people . I know a lot of people that were born in to money that struggle to find purpose . Their character can suffer for it . The strongest people I know fought for it . They went against the grain and dug in when they had to . They stood their ground and refused to be broken , no matter the obstacle . Think about which of those two people you would rather be ? One is a fortress made of stone , one is a palace made of glass .

Training is the same way . The gifted are often less grateful than the grafters . Talent is great but tenacity is greater . The most impressive people I see in the gym are not the best , they are the once that work the hardest . I can see it in people’s eyes and the way they carry themselves . They are in the business of using the gym as a tool to harden themselves .. to reveal themselves , to create, pursue and define . It’s a theatre of growth and there are no limits .

Hard work is not really about the result , it’s about who you become along the way . A 6 pack is great but it’ll never be as powerful as the lessons it took to get them . No one is going to lie and say more money wouldn’t be useful … but earning it through your grit will always land a bigger punch then getting it through gift . Value is different than amount and the things you build will stand the test of time longer than the things that were built for you .

Hard work will always be the currency I value the most . In others and in myself . It shows me who you are and reminds me of who I am . And if I see a community of hard working people in front of me I’m filled with pride for the arena we have built . One that commands it . One that fosters it and one that ties it to joy .

So work hard . Even if it doesn’t feel like a win today … the investment you are making in the you of tomorrow will be worth it . Hold on to that promise .

See you in the gym

PV

The PAC Perspective