All my life people have been telling me that to succeed I would need to work hard. Put my nose to the grindstone, pull myself up by the bootstraps, put my head down and trudge on through the marshes of the "real world."
Never did I hear more of the "work hard" rhetoric than when it came time to apply for college. My parents, my teachers and even my more responsible friends harped on and on about how if I was going to make something of myself, I was going to have to buckle down and focus on my studies.
To be honest, I always just ignored it. I did fine in high school without putting any effort into it -- I did better than fine, I was in the top of my class. I slept through my classes and never did homework. Never took a book home and never, ever studied. I came to college without the ability to study. I don't know how to learn a series of terms or commit a timeline to memory. I don't know how to use mnemonic devices and I'm pretty screwed when it comes to regurgitating useless facts -- but I'm getting by.
All it took was embracing the fact that working really hard at something isn't going to allow me to succeed at it. I had to disregard all of the pep talks that parents and teachers had given me, because working hard was not working for me.
It didn't fit my skill set, and it sure as hell wasn't leaving me with a feeling of achievement. I suppose it is everyone's dream to be successful. Every person at this university came here because, somewhere down the line, they want to be the richest or the smartest or the fastest -- they believe in the tales spun to them during their younger years, and it continues to motivate them today.
I think that is great. I applaud those of you who truly believe that working as hard as you can every day of your life is going to lead you to the promised land.
It amazes me that so many people are willing to devote their everything to bettering the odds in the crapshoot of life. Hey, if it worked for Andrew Carnegie, it could work for you, right?
No, it probably won't. I'm not trying to be pessimistic here. The chances of you being successful to the point of gaining loads of money or status aren't very good. You cannot rely on a work ethic to get you there. Bill Gates built Microsoft into the company it is today because of his superior work ethic -- or did he? What would have happened to Microsoft had its name not been pulled out of a hat to support IBM's new computers? How about U2? What if the band would have lost its first talent contest? Would it still be the "biggest band in the world"?
Or take the engineering students that will be graduating this spring. If you look at say, the top 100 of them, they will all have the same hardcore work ethic. Each of them will have missed zero class and will have devoted their lives to this university -- however, how many of them do you think will continue on to be successful? How many do you think will be happy?
The reality of the world we live in today is that all the good jobs are probably taken. The chances of you jet-setting around and fixing the worlds' problems are about 100 times worse than the chances of you ending up in a cubicle, grinding your way through life.
Again, I'm not trying to be pessimistic -- I'm just trying to illustrate my point. Working hard isn't the end-all-be-all of getting where you want to go. Sure you need to work hard. You need to put real effort into your life because no one else is going to do it for you. But there is a point where you have to say "am I working too hard?"
Imagine that "work versus reward" was set up on a balanced scale. The more work that is added to one side, the more rewards appear on the other. However, there is a point where this equilibrium begins to fail. After that point, putting more work on the scale does nothing but tip it toward the ground. After that point, the equality between work and reward has failed. It is at that point you have to identify the futility of pumping more and more effort into something. It is at that point where you begin losing things, important things, to the work ethic you hold so dear. How many families have been ruined because a father or mother spent all their time on the job and no time at home? Life isn't be about straining yourself to exhaustion, and I feel sorry for the people who think doing so will get them where they want to go. The success you strive for comes from a myriad of things, not just your sweat and blood. Success comes from diversity, opportunity, vision, creativity, consistency, experience and attitude. Not to mention genetics. "Genius" has been shown to be linked to bipolar disorders, so ... chances are, if you aren't crazy you're going to have a hard time beating out that Einstein character. You just can't tie up all of your dreams and aspirations behind your work ethic in the hopes that it will drag them along, not without realizing that it takes more than just late nights in the library and a caffeine addiction to make them happen. You need to allow yourself the opportunity to let those other parts of you grow and flourish. You need to allow yourself to experience every facet of living and learning if you ever want to find that success you strive for. You know you can work hard -- you've figured that part out. Now go out and see if you can be creative. See if you can lead. See if you can be empathetic and conversational.
Go explore yourself and the world around you. Don't allow the "work hard" mantra to drag you into your 30s with nothing to show for it but an ulcer.
The last thing I need is a generation of cubical dwellers cracking, picking up machine guns and opening fire on my office. Eh, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing... just uh... drop me an e-mail the day before so I know to call in sick.
