Hard Work versus Smart (and Rich) Laziness

Almost everyone has been brainwashed to accept (and pay lip service to) the fallacious premise that hard work is necessary in order to be successful. But the overwhelming evidence suggests the contrary, that hard work has nothing to do with success and is actually counterproductive. If hard work is supposed to produce success, then it would stand to reason that everyone who works hard should be successful. But that is far from the case. Most people who work hard never come close to being successful. In fact, most hard workers have a much higher incidence of non-success than they have success. Financial strain, stress-related disease, and lack personal fulfillment are at epidemic proportions, while wealth, health, and happiness are rare in comparison.

There is a better way. That better way is, of course, The Lazy Way.

Instead of success resulting from hard work, the opposite is true, that success is inversely proportional to hard work. In other words, more success comes the less you work. The catch is in finding the proper way of avoiding work. When you find that proper way, you are able to do less and accomplish more.

I have suggested in previous posts that those delicious and highly effective ways of doing less reveal themselves when you are blissfully avoiding work. You can avoid work in any number of fruitful ways. Doing that which you are passionate about is a wonderful way to avoid work. Another recommended method of avoiding work is having a ball “playing” with a concept or a project.

Yet, folks are so programmed into believing hard work has value that they accuse me of using semantics to advance my argument. They say that when I suggest that play or fun or passion are the ways to achieve success, I am really just renaming “hard work” and calling it “play” or “fun” or “passion” instead. They maintain that I am not saying anything other than “hard work is necessary for success.”

All I can do is sigh. Hard work has clearly atrophied their brains rendering them incapable of discriminating thought. These hard work advocates refuse to entertain the possibility that another approach may be better. If an argument is compelling (such as mine, for example) they either condemn it as heresy (or some other crude expression) or they cram it under their “hard work” umbrella. They apparently see no difference between slaving away at a mindless, pointless, stultifying job and advancing an exhilarating, laugh-filled, creativity-stimulating enterprise. Both situations require hard work, they conclude without a flicker of deep reflection.

When folks lump play, fun, and passionate pursuits in with rat-racing, boring tasks, and hard labor and then insist hard work is the key to success, you can be sure these folks have zero insight into what it takes to be successful.

    *     *     *

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a single suitable word in the English language to describe what I am talking about. I use the word “lazy” but, except for a few enlightened souls who see the cosmic value contained within that word, laziness is generally regarded as a strictly negative trait. To fill this void, I have tried to create phrases that come close to what I am driving at. Some examples are smart lazy, effective lazy, and foxy lazy (for Jimi Hendrix fans). The definition for this powerful insight into laziness would be the ability to avoid work, yet still be able to get the job done and become wildly successful as a result.

    *     *     *

I’m tired of wasting all my precious time
You’ve got to be all mine, all mine
Foxy lady
Here I come

I’m coming to get ya 

Ah, Jimi, I miss you.

www.lazyway.net

Comments

[Andy Gimblett]

I don't disagree with you, but I wanted to point out a logical issue. You said: "... the fallacious premise that hard work is necessary in order to be successful. ... then it would stand to reason that everyone who works hard should be successful."

The problem here, a common one, is confusion of "necessary" and "sufficient". "Everyone who works hard should be successful" is only true if hard work is _sufficient_ for success. Whereas, if we hold it to be _necessary_ for success, that means there's no success without hard work, _but_ you might actually need more than just hard work, so not everyone who works hard need be successful.

Now, it's clear you don't think hard work is neither necessary nor sufficient for success, and that's fair enough, I don't disagree... I just wanted to point out that your argument that it's not necessary is actually an argument that it's not sufficient. Please pardon my pedantry. :)

[Fred Gratzon]

Thanks for improving my logic. Power resides in the subtle.

[Andre in LA]

Of course! Here's the workout example: I used to belong to a gym and get moderate satisfaction from exercising. Every time I had to push myself to go, though, and frankly, it felt like work. This was not authentic exercise for me -- if I didn't "have" to do it, I wouldn't have done it.

Enter my passions for acrobatics, fighting and dance. Currently I go to a fighting class twice a week, spend 2.5 hours in intense acrobatic dance (google contact improvisation) and spend my Saturday mornings in a run-down gym where I learn front and back-flips and spend most of the time in a pure state of play.

So, fighting (which is basically body-based real-time improv with high stakes), dance (contact improv which is again acrobatics in a pure state of play) and then acrobatics and well, just play.

The cycles of exersion and recovery are beyond what I've experienced with any sport, the pleasure of full-body-play is unbeliavable and I am in the best shape of my life. Now, is this work? NO! Am I lazy? You bet! Does my body work out at its full capacity? Of course.

This to me is a reference of full surrender to play, joy and pleasure and having this surrender change who I am, what I am.

Now, I want to create this same experience in the area of my paid contributions to humanity. It would be impossible to not be great at what I do.

[Eric N.]

How about "Effortlessly". The word elicits a more positive connotation of something being done without "working" and doesn't retain a negative connotation.

When I am in the office, the time I spend "working" often involves periods of indigestion, hair pulling, and ultimately frustration. When I switch into effortless mode, or zone, I get things done much more smoothly. My results are similar in outcome as if I had worked hard but without the stress.

I often feel that I use a different part of my brain when taking a "work" approach versus "lazy/effortless" approach.

Maintaining this zone is hard, but something I aim for... and more often than not, isn't something I am able to effecitvely reproduce.

[elloco]

"Unfortunately I have not been able to find a single suitable word in the English language to describe what I am talking about."

Fred, didn't the ancient Taoist invented a word for this: "wu-wei"? Basically it means action through non-action, where you do nothing but everything gets done. Effortlessly, by tuning into Nature's own flow.

[AJ]

Thank you for clarifying your description of successful laziness and I agree with what you wrote in this post. Its been an ongoing debate that I have been having with my hardworking father in-law. He is adamant that success only comes from real hard work and the conversations I have with him about business would make one believe that becoming wealthy is an almost unachievable goal.

Fred, I've been enjoying your perspective as a lurker for several months now. While "lazy" caught my eye, I think what you're really talking about is "the effortless way to make money."

Dictionary.com lists effort as the difficult exertion of unusually earnest physical or mental energy, applying force against inertia to accomplish something. It seems to me that your whole point is that when something requires difficulty, earnestness, force, that it's not a good way to solve the problem. Sometimes seriousness and dignity is appropriate, e.g. a funeral, but all that force and struggle is not really required. And the people who have told us that money only comes to those who suffer are not telling us the whole truth.

I hope you'll be too lazy to change the title, however. "The effortless way to get rich" wouldn't be as catchy.

Thanks!

[Ezrie]

Great article. My old Kung Fu teacher used to refer to the state of "laziness" you describe as the "Rhythm of Fatigue" His point was that in combat, you can not, nor should you, be moving at full force and with full intention at all times -- you will undoubtedly run out of gas and lose focus very quickly. In the rhythm of fatigue, you are aware, but not focused, and moving but not acting. I think the same goes for "Laziness" at work.

[Myke]

It will be 36 years next month since Jimi departed for the next world.

I was watching Jimi at Woodstock on Google Video (link via http://www.mykesweblog.com/2006/08/flash_back.html) several days ago and felt elated from the power of his music and very sad that he left so young.

Thanks for remembering Jimi. His music still inspires.

[Tom Verbroekken]

Napoleon Hill writes in his classic book Think And Grow Rich:

"If you are one of those who believe that hard work and honesty, alone, will bring riches, perish the thought! It is not true! Riches, when they come in huge quantities, are never the result of HARD work! Riches come, if they come at all, in response to definite demands, based upon the application of definite principles, and not by chance or luck."

I think that pretty much sums up what Fred's trying to say here.

[Fred Gratzon]

I also maintain that good luck comes as a result of the application of definite principles. I've written about those principles in the past.

Life is too precious to spend even a second on hard work. Enjoy being yourself. Enjoy the process. And enjoy the results. Hard work is a concept that comes from an age of ignorance.

[P.KIRAN KUMAR]

i strongly oppose ur sayings.this is because of the reason that you are not confident about yourself .At the same time you expressed ur thoughts in an confusion manner.My questions towards ur goodself is that 1.i am in confuse that whether hard work is better or else smart work

[neeta johny]

Great piece of work, i too agree with ur idea of work approach. With technology booming high all must turn to smart work. The world is moving fast and to keep pace with it i believe effortless work needed.

[Sayak Boral]

Hey smarty

I totally agree with you. Although like you I too was programmed since childhood (or rather brainwashed) into believing that Hard Work is the key to success - I never saw fun in it. As long as I dind't enjoy the thing (and have a blast all the way) - I guess there was no point in doing that.

Guess what - I was working 12 hours a day in a software company and all my colleagues (the real hard-workers) absolutely hated me for my flippant approach. In the 12 hour time period, I used to spend like 6 hours listening to music, playing billiards, eating snacks, flirting with co-workers and in the company library.

Naturally, my performance suffered. While my colleagues were awarded to 5 stars for their good record, I was given a very negative rating. But fuck - who the hell cares as long as I'm having a ball.

I quit my job and started my own company (check my website www.sayakboral.com) now and again having quite a blast, and EARNING much more than what I did before (but I am lazy, no?). The best part is I choose my own clients. More than money, what's important to me is that the client should be happy with my "lazy" work culture. I never let the quality suffer any case - I can give best quality but "not when you push me around".

I have vacations once in two months and a normal, active (though Unhealthy) lifestyle - but I'm young and now decided to quit smoking and drinking - I think I can compromise on that.

If you get time, read a book by RIchard Branson of Virgin Atlanctic, "Screw it- let's do it" - it sums up my mantra for success too.

Good luck and enjoy your time.

Sayak

[Rockytop97]

I agree that hard work doesn't guarantee success. However, you do have to get off your butt and make something happen. Money simply is not going to run to you. Digging holes in the ground and filling the back up with a shovel is not my idea of success. However, it is a paycheck for some. I think that creating a business system that runs with little effort would free up a lot of people's time. You do have to work hard in the beginning to get such a thing going.

[demotivated soul]

Oh man!! a man after my own heart.

Hardwork pays later
Laziness pays now

http://www.demotivate.org/pages/posters/hardwork/hardwork.htm

Keep up the good work

Pete

[Asnh]

Wow..

Excellent Article mate

[wika]

Iam so glad cause i came from lazy country. (Indonesia) did you know, hey every body? ha... 7x