Why You Should Work Smarter, And Harder

These books that lead you to believe that you can achieve success by simply working smarter and not harder are lying.

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Be prepared to roll up your sleeves if you want to see real results.

I was recently speaking to Dan Hanlon, CEO of Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle company, one of the greatest U.S. motorcycle companies of all time. He told me that for over twenty years he kept a small box on his desk and on its lid it read "The Secret to Success." Upon opening the box there was a single-word engraved–"Work." While we chatted he asked me what had contributed to The Trademark Company’s success. I replied "Ask me at 6 a.m. on any given Saturday." He loved my response.
 
In recent years there has been a host of books out about how to work smarter, not harder. These books lead the reader to believe that by simply working smarter and not harder you may be able to break free of the chains of full-time work with a fraction of the weekly effort. 
 
But while the temptation to work less and make more will always be present, ask yourself will that truly get you and your business to where you want it to be?
 
There is an old saying that most overnight success stories were twenty years in the making. Richard Branson is known for rarely taking a day off and even when he was vacationing at his luxurious Necker Island estate (prior to the recent fire) was known to hold early-morning board meetings remotely for his various companies during his stays.
 
Gene Simmons of the iconic rock band Kiss insists upon working seven days a week. To paraphrase his rationale, if you work four hours on Saturday and another four on Sunday that’s eight extra hours per week or 416 hours more per year. It’s like finding an extra 10 weeks of work by merely putting in a little work on the weekends.
 
This is not to discount the theory of working smarter, not harder. You should still work smarter, just continue to work hard while doing so.
 
So how do you build your business? How do you beat out your competitor? Work harder. You have to dedicate yourself to putting in the time if you want to achieve the goals you set.
 
Does this mean you have to ignore your family or friends to do so? No. It just means you need to find those times in the day or week when you can put down the remote, turn off the TV, and enjoy putting in a little extra effort in building your business and love doing so.

Matthew Swyers is the founder of The Trademark Company, a web-based law firm specializing in protecting the trademark rights of small to medium-sized businesses. The company is also ranked No. 138 on the 2011 Inc. 500 list. @TrademarkCo