Where did we learn work had to be hard ?

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, hard work was ingrained in us. It was expected you work hard to get results. The contrast was laziness and sloth. And there was no room for that.

But working hard and hard work are not the same.

Maybe I’m slow to the party but it’s taken me a long time to really get this. When you’re in the flow and doing what you love, work is not hard.

I heard the esteemed (wine and media) entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk answer a question recently;
“Did you have to sacrifice a lot to get to where you are?”
“Yes and no,” he responded.

Because he loves business like some people love sailing or golf, spending time working and solving business problems is his happy place.

And there was a sacrifice to that. He missed time with his kids when they were young but created a different reality for his parents as a result, so it was an intended trade-off he’d make again.

Importantly, you don’t have to get it right straight out of the box. Tapping into your passion can come anytime or change as your interests and priorities shift.

Take the story of Kate Reid. With an aerospace engineering degree from Cranfield University in the UK, Kate worked in Formula 1 Racing all over the world for years, before realising her heart wasn’t in it.

In a whirlwind career change, she decided to do something completely different. She approached one of the most esteemed croissant artisans in the world, Christophe Vasseur in Paris and asked to apprentice under him.

Remarkably, he said yes, recognising her passion and preparedness for commitment. She took the technical precision of Formula 1 racing and applied it to baking. Years later, her Melbourne bakery Lune was heralded by the New York Times as producing the best croissants in the world. (Fortunately for us, there’s now a bakery in South Brisbane too, so check it out!)

• In the household you grew up in, was work regarded as a means to an end, or a creative expression?
   
• How are you modelling work for those around you?

As you know, I used to be a property developer.  I now coach entrepreneurs to prosper from their passion.

Seeing a need to document emotion, I also write Postscripts to help people put into words what’s in their heart. (We often have so much depth to us, and life can teach us to say less rather than get it wrong).  This passion project never feels like work to me.

So today, start with what you love. When you’re doing what you love, time and commitment feel effortless.

Because life was meant to be easier.