It’s refreshing to hear someone not being afraid of telling the truth in this age of get-what-you-want-quick-schemes.

Keep up the good work.

I was 207 pounds just 5 months ago and made the decision that I was tired of being a fat woman. I declared Fat2Fit50 (my age!) Basically, all I’ve done different is a 30 minute walk 6 days a week on the treadmill and cut back my food. I haven’t counted calories (or points) or deprived myself, but I do weigh in once a week at Weight Watchers for accountability. At first the exercise WAS work, but now it’s the one thing in my day that I have control of. I’m down 2 jean sizes and today I weigh 184.

I’ve been blogging for a year and have 200 posts that I think are better than average. Now, I’m ready to launch my site. I’ve been hiding in plain sight but I feel good because I’ve put in the real work and know that now it’s just a matter of mechanics.

Hard work does not equal success but it is a critical component of it.

Ask yourself, how bad do you want to do this? Then, force yourself to follows Caleb’s 3 steps for at least several iterations. Only after you have suffered through some of the hard work can you decide if this skill is right for you.

There is no substitute for hard work, but it is a little easier if you decide to enjoy the process, regardless of the outcome. Even if you eventually abandon the idea, you are made better by your failures. Each one is just a step along the path to success, if you let it be.

Thanks Caleb for yet another great post.

You’re not alone. A lot people fear failing. Check out these two posts I wrote about that exact fear and let me know what you think.

1. http://www.pocketchanged.com/2012/02/16/why-success-always-starts-with-failure/
2. http://www.pocketchanged.com/2012/01/30/quotes-overcome-fear-of-failure/

http://expertenough.com/1626/master-any-skill

Just have a lot of interests, including motivating people to work hard for a change!

Heck yeah. It doesn’t feel like work as much if you enjoy what you are doing.

Thanks for the comment Justin.

“Hard work” can be mental, physical, or in other forms too. Practice and hard work are how you make progress though.

I agree.

Thanks for commenting.

People that are extremely successful usually have a history of one thing: working really, really hard until they reach the top.

Thanks for sharing Ben.

Quick results are usually lost pretty quickly as well.

The difference between being surrounded just by friends vs. family can be huge.

Questioning yourself can have huge consequences.

I feel that whilst the ‘art’ of hard work has been lost in favour of quick fix schemes and such, this article would have been better served helping people who have never been given the mindset of hard work. Throughout school and even university now everything is so neatly packaged that it doesn’t take ‘hard work’ for a reasonably bright student to do very well, and if you don’t learn to work hard by the time you are 18/21, then I think it becomes very difficult to do so without some guidance. I for one never found school difficult, and regret now that i’ve never really learnt how to ‘learn’. Reading and practising isn’t the be all and end all, learning ‘how’ to read for knowledge gain and ‘how’ to practise is just as important. A famous UK swimmer once said that practice doesn’t make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfection.

Just my tuppence.

Reading or praying has been my main source of inspiration esp praying to God and He gives me guidance.

Sheyi

Everyone is always looking for a handout. I’m definitely guilty of this from time to time.

I think what makes the process easier is if you are following something that makes you come alive.

So you might lose that weight in 30 days… but you’ll probably gain it back since you haven’t gotten good at living a healthy lifestyle. You might get rich quick… but you won’t be able to maintain and grow your wealth.

I’m reading “Sailing Alone Around the World”, by Joshua Slocum, the first man to, well, sail alone around the world. He tells a great story, filled with exciting events, danger, and adventure. It’s all very romantic, but if you keep track of the dates he mentions, you’ll notice that, very often, nothing interesting happens for weeks at a time. Why? Because he’s just bobbing up and down on the sea, putting in the miles day after day. He talks (in other sources) about how he did value the solitude, but it was very monotonous and difficult.

There’s no quick and easy way to sail around the world, or build a business, or raise children. You have to be there every day, showing up 100% engaged, ready to work your tail off.

Nuff said IMO.

Great post.

I’d like to think I’m starting to turn things around. But I also need to make sure that I’m not deluding myself. We live in a culture of quick fixes; our social environments are built around that. Fast food, diets without hard work, sitcoms where the lesson is learned within 30 minutes… I even admit that my personal environment is not optimal, though I’m taking steps to resolve that. Once my environment is better, it’ll be easier to build better habits. These habits will make it a little bit easier to work toward my goals.