E001: Does Hard Work Guarantee Success?

Key takeaway: No, hard work does not guarantee success. But if you apply your efforts correctly, hard work can significantly increase your chances of success.

• Think of hard work as doing your best whenever you can. 
• Hard work is a realistic requirement for success. 
• You influence your chances of success purely by your attitude.
• Hard work provides both delayed and compound benefits.
• Effective work has two components: working on the right things and working in the right way. 
• Successful work is always situation specific. 
• Good communication starts with listening and asking questions. Your goals are twofold: gaining understanding and then managing expectations. 
• Be careful of derailers that will undermine your progress. 
• Occasionally your best move is to recognize you’re in the wrong place. 
• You can still draw helpful lessons from a painful experience that might help you avoid a similar situation in the future. 

We hope today’s lessons on hard work save you some pain and increase your odds of success.