Let’s first establish my simplistic view on work and personal progress. The compounding effect of your daily activities, actions, and aspirations make a man feel a sense of achievement, of effectiveness, when most days, you manage to go to sleep with the feeling that the day has been good, that things have gone reasonably well and that you have been effective in managing your daily affairs.  This is, in my simplest opinion, how an individual feels “complete”.

That said, I am a big advocate of effort, of persistence, of ritual. At times, the greatest men are not necessarily the most intelligent, the strongest, nor the fastest, but are instead the most perseverant, the most committed. Respect comes from hard work, not from luck. Volume negates luck. As Gayner said “You cannot control the outcome, you can only control the effort and the dedication and the giving of one hundred percent of yourself to the task at hand. And then whatever happens, happens.”

In my opinion, a person with high IQ should not be admired nor praised for the sole fact of being smart. Nevertheless, if this person were to have put a lot of effort into a certain creation or goal of his, then, he should be praised, and recognised for his work. The combination of someone with high IQ and high persistence is the strongest combination of all, as this person will have the tools to become anything he wants in life, both personally, and professionally. On the other hand, a very small minority of people with high IQ make productive use of it, and this is where average people come in.

My whole work ethos is based around persistence. One of my favourite quotes “The discipline of ritual, even if you don’t feel like it, still being there, even if no progress is being made, still be there for the grind because sometimes just minutes later, there’ll be a breakthrough” perfectly defines the art of discipline, and its consequential compounding effect. This not only applies to your personal goals, but also to your education (e.g. university), to corporate jobs, and even to relationships.

In addition, the work you put in towards something should not only be to the benefit of someone else, whether directly or indirectly. What I mean by this is that you should prioritise working on things that will make you own something that is solely yours. This can be anything from a personal brand, to a business, a book, a piece of artwork, a YouTube channel, anything! Working for something or someone else is not a bad thing per se, yet it will never give you the feeling of accomplishment and self respect a man should aspire to. Having something of your own will not only help you develop your persona, but it will also give you the possibility to help others, in much more meaningful forms than a large corporation can ever provide you. This however does depend on your personality.

Over the years I found that work and progress are essential to a man’s well-being and sense of direction. Looking back, when I started creating websites at age 15, I was filled with enthusiasm, motivation, and drive for progress, to the point of being addictive. It was the first time I felt something like that. I vividly remember myself going to bed thinking about what I had done today, and what I would do the next day early in the morning. It is a feeling that I’m aiming to recover, through slow, iterative improvements in various aspects of my life. This is how working effectively feels like. Having something to work on, and having something to work towards. The art of ritual is my opinion the most valuable skill a man can have in today’s impatient society.

All in all, take my perspective as a framework, not as a statement. It is imperative for a person to interpret what they read however they please. Thoughts are not statements, but ways to express feelings from the perspective of a single individual who has no authority over other’s minds. My goal with this post is to help someone who might need clarity with regard to their work philosophy. Hope you enjoyed the post!