I was a frustrating student for my teachers.
“Grates, if you put more effort in, you could get to the top of the class,” they’d say.
I was getting decent grades, but they certainly could have been better. I couldn’t see the cost/benefit of putting in the extra hours of studying to go from solid Bs to straight As. At that point in my life, girls and sports seemed like the far superior use of my time.
I’ve always questioned the concept of work.
What it means and what it is.
I’ve described myself as strategically lazy, as I find ways to achieve large amounts with minimal effort. I told myself this was okay because, ultimately, I was comfortable being a dreamer versus a doer.
As a child, I saw my parents working their tails off 9-5 every day to barely pay the bills and then do it all over again, day after day.
They never got ahead.
They were Grinders.
Putting in the hours.
Hating their busy-ness.
And they were seemingly starting each pay period where they ended the last one: needlessly sacrificing themselves and our family time at the altar of society’s definition of achievement.
Then I took notice of a small group who were getting it done.
These people found a healthy balance between work and actually living life.
They discovered their Flow.
Not grinding long hours.
And, making it look effortless.
I needed to know HOW they did it.
Why was it that one group of people worked hard and struggled, and the other group worked hard but found happiness?
I came to realize that “working hard” has two different definitions.
The Grinders have carried over the definition of work from school.
Busy work.
Put the hours in.
Do everything.
It’s just how it is.
Take every call.
Reply to every email.
Spend hours tweaking everything.
Just keep your head down, and the rewards will come.
Those in the Flow are the opposite.
They spend time creating.
Studying.
Writing.
Thinking.
Looking for the edge.
Putting their heads up and testing their ideas in the court of public opinion.
Grinders don’t want to expose their ideas.
The Flow do.
The Grinders would rather be busy in the shadows. Avoiding the emotional hard work and sacrificing this precious thing called time.
The Flow accepts the emotional hard work. The risk of criticism and comparison that comes so naturally to many. They get the hard work done to spend their time where it matters to them.
Hard work is essential. It’s necessary to gain progress in sales.
It’s unavoidable.
But the choice between flow and grind is yours.
Choose wisely.
Will you spend today being BUSY and start tomorrow in the same place as you did today?
Or will you spend your time efficiently, only dealing with the essential activities that will move you closer to your progress in sales?
Find your FLOW today.
