What it Takes

Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics.

William “Bud” Hart, of Haverhill, shares “Success Principles”—ideas for living a greater, better and more accomplished life, and building habits that stick. He also coaches clients to incorporate strategies for boosting their mental and physical performance during everyday living.

William “Bud” Hart, of Haverhill, shares “Success Principles”—ideas for living a greater, better and more accomplished life, and building habits that stick. He also coaches clients to incorporate strategies for boosting their mental and physical performance during everyday living.

Years ago I came across a book written by a teacher named Margaret Slattery, titled, “Just Over The Hill.” The book was published in 1911 and dedicated to students at the School of Practical Arts State Normal School in Fitchburg, Mass.

In the second chapter, “Success,” she writes, “It was a wise man who had seen life and spoke the truth when he said, “Success is spelled with four letters, W-O-R-K.” And failure is spelled with five, S-H-I-R-K. Anyone who is willing to do the first will win, in time will win in spite of everything. Anyone who chooses to do the second has decided his fate.”

A century later, in 2011 the importance of hard work was championed in a “60 Minutes” television program segment I watched on Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

In the segment President Hrabowski said, “We have to teach Americans of all races, from all backgrounds, what it takes to be the best.  And at the heart of it is the same thing we saw when we were kids. Hard work! Nothing, I don’t care how smart you are. Nothing takes the place of hard work.”

For centuries children have been hearing about the value of hard work from parents and teachers (as I often did). So, is hard work what it takes (the key) to unlock success in today’s world? It’s a question I’m not debating here. But, I will say is this.

As a father who has been fortunate to observe, teach and coach two kids of my own (grown and successfully on their own today) in school, at jobs I hired them to perform in my business and in sports, I repeated the words of Larry Bird’s high school coach Jim Jones to my kids many, many times.

Larry Bird one of the great basketball players of all time noted lessons his coach taught him about hard work, saying. “Coach Jones spent a lot of time with us as young kids and showed us how to play the game the right way. He was telling us, no matter how long you stay out here or how many jump shots you shoot, there’s always somebody out there doing a little bit more.”

The truth is there is always somebody willing to do the hard work (like Larry Bird) and they are the ones that usually see the greatest success.

Repetition being the mother of all learning, the words I told my kids over and over are worth repeating once more. If you really want something you can have it if you’re the one willing to put in the time and work better and harder than the next guy.

William “Bud” Hart is a certified “Mindset” Coach, Accountability Partner and Business Consultant. Founder of Hart Group, www.hartgroupma.com.