It shouldn’t be easy.
Easy is lazy. Easy is the quickest way to the bottom.
Everyone that is asking for easy is saying “I’m not willing to put in the work to make this successful”.
When you look for shortcuts you aren’t committed.
And let’s be clear on the definitions, I’m not saying you can’t become more efficient, improve skills to speed up where you used to be slow, or find ways to do it differently.
I’m saying easy isn’t an option to become successful.
Things that are valued take hard work. They take a meticulous drive to do the simple things well and do the not so fun stuff without letting it slip.
We love the glory of the “finish line” but focusing on crossing it negates the hard work of getting there.
Publishing a book, that’s rather easy.
Writing a book, that’s hard.
Staying fit and healthy, that’s easy.
Getting in shape, that’s hard.
Getting married, that’s easy.
Having a committed and loving marriage, that’s hard.
Here’s the thing, it’s the hard stuff that is the most fun and rewarding. It’s the stuff where we are flat out challenged constantly but know that the only way out is through.
We have to change our mindset because the world is trying to convince us otherwise.
There are “snake oil” salesman in the form of influencers and businesses that are trying to sell you “magic beans”.
They’ll sell you on the quick fix, the weight loss pills, the “make 50k a month by buying my course” and a bunch of nonsensical BS that if you don look out for can catch you off guard.
It looks good. It can sound legit. It’s almost always shit.
Because you realize it’s not about taking the easy road. We can’t trick ourselves, we must must solve the problems and not the symptoms.
We have to focus on the root causes of why we aren’t getting the results we want. We have to be willing to dig deep and accept how we are and what work needs to be done to improve.
And then we have to put in the work.
Whatever it is. Business, career, relationships, sports, etc. It’s in the work where we separate ourselves from our former selves. It’s in the work that we become a different person. It’s in the work that becomes the most rewarding.
Not by taking the easy road.
Not by skipping a few steps.
By putting in the work. By trusting that although this path is brutally difficult it’s so much more fulfilling. It’s because we earned it.
We didn’t try to finish before we started. We didn’t care that it might take a long time.
We weren’t concerned about crossing the finish line. We knew we’d eventually do it.
We were committed to the work to get there. The grind of the process. The fun that comes with challenging ourselves more than we thought we were capable of.
It might be the hardest thing we can do but it’s the easiest decision to make when we are looking to step outside our comfort zone and live a life we only dreamed of.