What is Hard Work, Anyway? [From the Archive—Unlocked]

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We've all heard the phrase, "Work hard and you'll succeed." It's plastered across motivational posters, echoed in graduation speeches, and repeated like a mantra on social media. 

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Over the past few years, I’ve heard the following statements from execs, CEOs, and founders:

• “They just clock out.”

• “I have no idea how to give them a real work ethic.”

• “No one goes the extra mile.”

• “I think they believe they’re working hard.”

But real hard work, the kind that propels you to the very top, isn't just about long hours or burning the midnight oil. It's a lifestyle shift, a mental rewiring, and often, a series of sacrifices that many aren't prepared to make. Leaders have become incredibly frustrated that it seems “no one wants to work anymore,” and I’m not sure if they’re wrong. It’s hard to find people who will work as hard as you do, and who are as committed as much as you are—so I thought I’d write this piece.

What does it really mean to work hard? This is what I’ve seen—and I’ll pull no punches.

It Takes What It Takes

Let’s start off by ditching the standard 40-hour work week. I’ll say up front that what you’re about to read cannot be a steady state of living forever, and may not be fit for many people for even a short time. It just can’t. And for many people, it can’t be who they are at all. I also want to say that I am sympathetic to the goal of having more passive revenue streams and pulling yourself *out* of a lot of the day-to-day grind. It’s a no-brainer over time. 

However, that’s not how empires are initially built. How do I know? I watch people build them. 

I can tell you stories of well-funded startup teams that have had to force their engineers to take time off to avoid burnout or solo founders who have worked seven days a week for as long as they can remember. One founder I worked with didn’t go on vacation for five years; they lived and breathed their work. I’ve had executives with physical problems place them secondary to their work and the stress of very demanding companies.

Sound extreme? It often is…and we even hear public examples: Sam Altman gave himself scurvy, an 18th-century disease, from lack of vitamin C and poor eating. Thankfully, it remedies in a few months with supplements and a better diet. 

Sometimes, I am surprised people survive while they’re building. It consumes their life…and this is true for almost every great achievement. 

In a race to the top, it takes what it takes. It is ugly, messy, sometimes harmful, and dramatically under-appreciated. 

This isn't about glorifying workaholism—though, undeniably, that’s what this is. It's about understanding that exceptional output demands exceptional input. If you're not willing to outwork everyone else in your field, someone else will, and they'll reap the rewards you’re dreaming of. 

Saying all of that, you can have a fantastic life, and an objectively successful one, without doing any of this. You can code up an app, be an outstanding engineer, or make a few million bucks.  But will you be the next person to join the billionaire club? Probably not. 

Everyone has their own finish line they are running toward. You get to decide your own.

Opportunity, Not Obligation

In truth, despite all of the things I listed above about the physical sacrifices, most people stumble at the psychological hurdles…and you’ll hear it in how they talk about work.

In sum, they see weekends and nights as “escapes” not opportunities. In the early days, this is your opportunity to get ahead, to take things to the next level, to push things forward when the world is quiet. This isn’t “giving up” your free time—it’s how you *get* to spend your time. They love the building and the opportunity; they are hungry for it. They can see it, it’s just out of their grasp. 

The early days of building require a certain mental positioning…and it’s not about age. I’ve seen people building in their 20s, their 40s, and beyond. The sacrifices aren’t eliminated, but how they show up might look a bit different. The 20-year-old might be sleeping on a mattress eating ramen, the 40-year-old might be working late into the night while everyone is asleep, leaving them to function on very little during the day. 

It’s up to you to decide: 

1. How important the goal is

2. The priority it holds in your life

3. What you are willing to sacrifice for it

How you prioritize your life matters. But you have to keep your priorities sharp and crisp—and draw clear lines around them. 

Most of my clients would tell you that they have three priorities:
Their business, their family, and their health
…Anything else is just a bonus. 

What does that mean for you? Well, you won’t have time to maintain a lot of hobbies, friends, or simple hangouts to watch sports games…at least not in the building stage. They’re distractions. 

In fact, some of those limited priorities may suffer for the work. Like the example of Altman above, most people often ignore their health. The pattern is that most exceptional people don’t get fit when they’re building—there are a few, but they are the rare exceptions. But, look at people like Zuckerberg, Bezos, Gary Vaynerchuk, or even Brian Chesky, whose focus turned to their health—or other matters—after they were done building. 

When I talked to Gary early in his journey (not as a client), he told me he didn’t have a fitness routine at all—though now, he clearly does…and I hear that mirrored in a lot of places. During the early building of exceptional careers, very few pull themselves away or create the time to put focus elsewhere. After they’ve done a lot of building, other things get a bit more attention, and rightly so. 

At the start, there is often a lot of neglect. Builders see themselves as being on a mission to max out their potential—whether in their careers or business. They don’t see it as an obligation, but an opportunity window…and they give everything to run hard at it.

The Practical Reality of Hard Work

The scenarios exceptionally high achievers face are real…and are important moments for you to consider before you dedicate yourself to truly hard work:

• Are you willing to miss family events for a critical project?

• Can you forgo immediate pleasures for long-term gains?

• Are you ready to be misunderstood by friends who don't share your ambition?

Each missed party, each late night, each skipped vacation are deposited into your future success account. It compounds over time, much like financial investments do…but the dollars often don’t back it yet, just self-belief.

True hard work is uncomfortable…and our brains are wired to seek comfort and avoid pain. The sacrifices can be challenging with hard consequences and can be one reason that exceptional success is so rare.

People see it as masochistic, but I see it as a growth push that has consequences only some people are willing to bear…consequences others would likely not tolerate.

If you want to be able to go the distance, you’ll want to work in intense sprints. The body and mind require good sleep and nutrition to function. If you can make time for your health sooner than later and know when your relationships require attention, you’ll do yourself a world of good with less regret on those fronts. We could write a novel on this alone. It’s often a lot to manage...but trust that nothing comes easy at high levels.

There is no overnight success—there is only obsession, push, and deep sacrifice early on. Many who have families or relationships are just trying to keep it all together, and some thankfully have solid partners who support them. 

Do the rewards come? For some yes, and for some…not always in the ways they hoped. It’s a risk, but if you orchestrate it right, you can finally break through to the other side of the table. A place where the grind is lesser, your life improves dramatically, and you open up a lot more choices for yourself, your life, and your work. This sort of grind isn’t forever but must exist for at least a period for anyone who wants to do anything exceptional. You may hate “hustle culture,” but skipping over that reality is misleading. 

If you see ads promising you overnight success in anything, please skip it and move on. Someone is about to take your money and give you nothing in return. Success rarely happens this way; success is the result of years of unseen hard work. Even the creator that “suddenly” goes viral likely has thousands of hours logged into the platform. The document MrBeast penned that is floating around has areas that underscore this well:

So, what results do you want? And do you want them badly enough? 

If the answer is yes, you will have to overcome your fears, peer pressure, hesitation, and risk aversion. You will have to play the long game, forgo easy wins for long-term gains, and definitely operate differently than both your peers and competitors in your space. You have to be okay with being different.

Maybe you are okay with being merely successful—and that is fine. As long as you choose your actions based on what you truly want, there is no judgment—even if people choose to opt out of career success altogether for other things. 

But if you say you want to be the best, the absolute best. If you want to be in the top .01% of what you do? That requires another level of commitment. It’s elite for a reason. You have to earn your place, and the work is hard. 

This week, you might think the challenge is to “work harder,” but it isn’t. The challenge is far more personal.

I want you to ask yourself these questions:

1. What do I really want? and 

2. What am I willing to do to get there?

Get clear on these. Challenge yourself on a walk or journaling. Look and see if your actions reflect what you say you want, and what you say you are willing to sacrifice…and line these things up in your work, and life, moving ahead this week. 

This is meant to be a very hard and brief look behind the curtain of elite building. It’s a bit shocking for some, others will likely nod along, and some will decide it’s just not for them…and that’s absolutely fine. 

At the end of the day, we each have to choose what we do with this life—and there are many directions to go in. Whatever you decide: run hard at it, and grasp it with both hands. 

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