The Hard Life Hack
Have you ever struggled? Most of us have struggled and journeyed through a hard time. Many meander through life and find life hard. Their circumstances make their life bleak. Why?
Years ago while working on Navy diving equipment training I hired a company to help, A-T Solutions, who partnered with Perot Government Systems on a project. On a trip to Texas A-T Solutions asked if I could swing through Plano (TX) on my trip and meet Ross Perot. I had never met him and read up about him before I arrived. For his run for President, the media had made him look kooky. Standing next to George Bush and Bill Clinton he looked small and feeble. That was hardly the right impression. He had started EDS with a $1000 dollar loan, he had rescued his own employees without Government assistance when they were jailed in Iran, and he had been a Naval Officer. I changed my perspective and saw him as fearless and pragmatic. He had learned the Hard Life Hack early.
Waiting outside in his secretaries’ lobby, I reviewed the artifacts: the mask Russell Crowe wore in Gladiator, a signed copy of the Magna Carta, a famous Remington Indian bronze and another bronze of the Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial (Which he said the only other copy was outside the Commandant of the Marine Corps), I prepared myself for kooky but walked away enlightened. When we met he politely dismissed his A-T Solutions business partners after a short meeting and we had a short one-on-one session. Beside small talk about family (both our families had postmen in our past) and our connection to Arkansas and Texas, I asked him what would he tell a young manager like myself. He said, “Work hard but, focus on the people and the products they need. Never make money or success the focus.” Those few words would stay with me. I would rephrase them, and try to emulate them. Later when thinking about this article, Ross Perot had been my inspiration and my personal connection to what successful people know about the Hard Life Hack.
There is a secret successful people know that is so simple that it is almost ridiculous to say out loud. Successful people know that winning starts by never giving up. They are persistent and fearless. They see struggle as a motivator. They learn from mistakes. As a matter of fact, they learn and try new things their whole life.
Why is this, why do they not accept their circumstances as fate and wallow in a hard life? That is because successful people have learned if you work hard, your life will be easy. Strife becomes part of their success and necessary. The Hard Life Hack is recognizing that if you work hard your life will be easy. Embrace struggle. There is overwhelming evidence that a hard life is a matter of perspective and successful people tell us this in their own stories.
The “Terminator” Arnold Schwarzenegger has his own Rules For Success. A quick look at his accomplishments (Governor of California, Mr. Olympia (7x), Mr. Universe(4x), over 14 Block Bust Movie successes, numerous distinguished Presidential appointments, multitude of business, and a millionaire by the age of 30).
One cannot listen to Arnold speak about his meager beginning and his struggle and not understand he mastered the Hard Life Hack. His six rules are:
Trust Yourself
Break The Rules
Don't Be Afraid To Fail
Don't Listen To The Naysayers
Work Your Butt Off
Give Back
What about Steve Jobs, so many people have explored Jobs to unravel his life hack. Fortunately for us we have lots of Jobs quotes to hear it directly from him, "Shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it." Throughout his life he spoke about being fearless with death as the single motivator that strife in life pails comparing the the end of ones days and death. As part of Steve Jobs' famous commencement speech to the 2005 Stanford graduating class, he spoke above three failures in life that made him. He said, “Getting fired was the best thing that could ever happened to me.” He recognized the motivating power of failure. He completed the speech with, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” Jobs understood the Hard Life Hack fact, to be fearless and never afraid to fail. After all, no one ever succeeded at any endeavor they never started.
Then there is the Queen of daylight TV, Oprah Winfrey. She is billionaire and philanthropist that started life as a poor Mississippi child passed around, abused, assaulted until she was a young lady and moved into her fathers home in Tennessee. She survived her youth to get a degree in media at University of Tennessee. She struggled in her early broadcast days, harassed and struggled more until she made it to Chicago morning show that would launch her into fame that eventually made her the most influential woman in Hollywood. It is clear she understood the Hard Life Hack speaking about strife,"The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.” She understood that failure has purpose. “I don't believe in failure. It's not failure if you enjoyed the process." She would going to talk about success and say that one should focus on growing and concentrate on excellence. Giving all of ones sweat into the effort will make your life “significant” then success is the only natural outcome. Oprah understood that one has to embrace the Hard Life Hack lessons that struggle is a process but not the goal. Success flows out of struggle.
The same Hard Life Hacks would be echoed in Bill Gates 7 Habits Every Leader Should Follow, but Bill would credit his parents for the Hard Life Hack essentials. His parents knew they had a bright child that would academically excel. They also knew he needed to understand strife and struggle are great teachers. They provide this lesson long before he needed it in business where he would be very successful and would fail but learn from his setbacks. His parents had him play football, swim and play the trombone. It was important to let him experience the Hard Life Hack that one is not going to be good at everything and that is okay. In his own words he would tell Fortune magazine,”At the time I thought it was kind of pointless, but it ended up really exposing me to leadership opportunities and showing me that I wasn't good at a lot of things, instead of sticking to things that I was comfortable with. It was fantastic, and now some of those activities I cherish. They had to stick to it because I pushed back a lot, but it was fantastic advice." The reference for the habits are below, it is clear Bill Gates understood in the Hard Life Hack of persistence and that failure and setbacks are great teachers.
Hard Life Hackers are all around us. They have a simple message. Never giving up. Embrace the motivating power of struggle. Be persistent. They learn from mistakes. Be fearless. Do this and the hard life in the present will lead to the successful life in ones future.
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Hack Series by Jim Ryan
The Late Bloomer Hack - Do Acorns Dream?
Jim Ryan | Mar 15, 2020
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/late-bloomer-hack-do-acorns-dream-jim-ryan
The Resilience Hack
Jim Ryan | Feb 26, 2020
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/resilience-hack-jim-ryan
The Commitment Hack
Jim Ryan | Feb 23, 2020
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/commitment-hack-jim-ryan
The Perfect Moment Hack
Jim Ryan | Jan 21, 2020
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/perfect-moment-hack-jim-ryan
THE TWILIGHT HACK
Jim Ryan | Feb 1, 2019
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/twilight-hack-jim-ryan
The Trust Crisis Hack!
Jim Ryan | Jan 21, 2019
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/trust-crisis-hack-jim-ryan
The Success Hack!
Jim Ryan | Jan 2, 2019
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/success-hack-jim-ryan
The Blind Spot Hack
Jim Ryan | Dec 27, 2018
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/blind-spot-hack-jim-ryan
The Communication Hack
Jim Ryan | Dec 19, 2018
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/communication-hack-jim-ryan
The couch hack
Jim Ryan | Dec 13, 2018
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/couch-hack-jim-ryan
Three hacks to get nearly 1/3 more time back during your work week!
Jim Ryan | Dec 4, 2018
https://www.linkedin.noclick_com/pulse/three-hacks-get-nearly-13-more-time-back-during-your-work-jim-ryan
Bill Gates 7 Habits Every Leader Should Follow:
The Early Bird Takes the Worm
Being A Life-Long Learner
Give Credit
Getting Plenty of Sleep
Frugality
Learning from Setbacks
Having Faith in Your Judgement
*******References*******
9 Things You Didn't Know About H. Ross Perot | Mental Floss
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/21060/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-h-ross-perot
Ross Perot's principles for success
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/07/09/ross-perots-principles-for-success.html
What I Learned From Arnold Schwarzenegger About Success
https://projectlifemastery.com/what-i-learned-from-arnold-schwarzenegger-about-success/
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Life Story: From Body Builder to "The Governator"
https://www.goalcast.com/2018/04/13/arnold-schwarzenegger-life-story/
Steve Jobs Secrets of Life | SmartStorming
https://www.smartstorming.com/steve-jobs-secrets-life/
Why Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech Still Inspires 10 Years Later
How These Once-Poor Women Rose To Success - Classy Career Girl
https://www.classycareergirl.com/2016/09/to-success-from-poverty/
Rags-to-riches story of Oprah Winfrey - Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/rags-to-riches-story-of-oprah-winfrey-2015-5
17 Women Who Revolutionized Hollywood
https://www.thewrap.com/womens-history-month-17-women-who-revolutionized-hollywood-photos/
Fun and Inspirational Oprah Winfrey Quotes
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/fun-oprah-winfrey-quotes-2892514
Doing it the Bill Gates Way: 7 Habits Every Leader Should Follow
Bill Gates on exactly what his parents did to set him up for success - Business Insider
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/bill-gates-childhood-parenting-success-tips/
VP Finance and Accounting
4 年wow, very impressive.? great article
Director of Business Development (Central Florida)
4 年Jim, great article. Thank you for sharing.