Laziness is a Good Thing

I get correspondence all the time asking me for a cure for laziness. That’s like asking me for a cure for beauty. Or a cure for wealth. If someone is lucky enough to be blessed with the gift of laziness, he or she should definitely enjoy it and exploit it. It is a quality to be coddled, nurtured, and developed. If correctly utilized, laziness is a one way ticket to great success.

In my world view, there are two kinds of laziness – both Heaven-sent. The first kind of laziness is pure, simple, and wholesome. It is the exalted impulse to avoid work. Clearly, avoiding work is a laudable goal in its own right. With this basic form of laziness, shirking all work is its own glorious reward. Nothing more needs to be accomplished. Hammocks and shade trees were designed by God for just this lofty purpose.

The second kind elevates basic laziness to an even higher level, if you can believe such a thing could be possible. With this type of laziness, work is still avoided at all costs. However, by skillfully avoiding work, even to the ultimate degree of doing nothing at all, one still accomplishes everything he or she wants. Now this is the supreme form of laziness. Doing nothing yet accomplishing everything. 

Those proficient in this sophisticated form of laziness are responsible for most advances in society. These are the people who know that when something needs to be accomplished, there is always a way that not only involves much less work but is also cheaper, safer, faster, more fun, more lucrative, and more effective. And these heroically lazy folks find that way. 

It is crucial to understand this next point: You will rarely find those magical lazy ways if you are hard at work. These super-charged lazy ways are only revealed to those who take the time to rejoice in laziness.

Sadly, some work-indoctrinated readers will refuse to see any validity in this concept. They will frantically wave their hands while ranting about the necessity of hard work and how vital it is to suffer in order to achieve anything. They will incessantly use the phrase “bust your butt” and they may even invoke images of garbage men and single mom waitresses to prove how important hard work, joylessness, and sacrifice are for the advancement of mankind. Yet, upon further review, in nearly every case, these staunch defenders of hard work will have negligible success to point to as a result of their own toil.

Alas, I know I will not be able to convince these folks that they are betting on the wrong horse. But someone has to stand up and speak the truth and hopefully some people will hear it. So here goes:

• Laziness is great. Hard work is a fraud.
• Laziness is incandescently fabulous. Hard work is unnecessary, counter-productive, a waste of time, unhealthy, unpleasant, boring, mind-numbing, anti-evolutionary, ignorant, uncreative, inefficient, and ineffective among many other traits too hideous to mention.
• Laziness opens the door to great success. The only thing that hard work is good for is perpetuating poverty.

If you want to be successful, you have to find a way to accomplish more by doing less. Start by buying a hammock. Then use it to locate your competitive edge.

www.lazyway.net

Comments

[Jason Manheim]

Right on Fred!

"Mystics are experts in laziness. They rely on it, because they continuously see God working all around them. The harvest keeps coming in, yet they never even did the plowing!" (The Essential Rumi p.30)

[J.Ganapathy]

I am too lazy to comment.Laziness is a virtue as per your statement.Great it boosts our spirits who are busy being lazy.

[Claudia Apfelthaler]

I love the way you say hard work is good for perpetuauting poverty. Isn't it unbelievable how many millions of people are BELIEVING only the struggle and sweat of your brow will get you to where you want to go? They are actually saying the world is a cold and unloving place and that our hearts desires are meaningless.

[Brenda]

I can't believe I've fallen for the hardwork lie for so long. I'm 55 now my husband & I have always worked hard & long hours and although we have made a reasonable living we haven't really lived. I'm definitely up for mastering this laziness thingy before it's too late.

[Sean]

Fred, Any advice on maintaining Faith in the divine, flowing, evolutionary nature of 'Laziness' when (nearly) ALL around us are singing the hard work & struggle anthem... REALLY LOUDLY!!! and oh so PERSISTENTLY!??? Love, Sean

[John Kinnunen]

I think there is a great difference between people who work hard, enjoy their work, take the time daily/monthly /annually to relax and recreate, and those who are lazy. It is my observation that the lazy are often dirty personally, live in filthy, messy houses and lead unhealthy lifestyles making poor food choices and avoiding excercise.
Contrary to your claims I see all around me people who work hard and prosper. It is not a direct correlation of course. Some become very wealthy while others range at various levels of comfort. Factors that influence are personality traits, education, family background, significant influences and money management tactics and skills.
The example of the monks in today's email is incomplete. Their society tolerates them because they are perceived to provide a spiritual service. Many others say they are leaches on their society, preying on the ignorance and unsophistication of the people.
One thing is true, if we were all to become monks and welfare bums we would all be dead soon.
Creativity is good but it is not enough on its own. It requires the disciplined direction to implement its benefits. Only then can we all benefits from the increasing leisure and enjoyment of that process.
Cheers
I enjoyed this work
JK

[Harald]

Creative laziness is a good thing. Avoiding difficulties at all costs is not. Don't believe that, that's very bad advice!

Life has a lot of lessons to teach. More often than not those lessons include inconvenient situations - running away from those means missing your life.

[Devion Ayers]

Ambitiously lazy is the term I use. Society teaches us to be productive(hard-working) citizens. If everyone understood you, then you would not have the choice to be lazy. Lets face it, it takes hard work to be lazy.

[Mayo]

Davion, I can sample myself for "Ambitiously lazy".
My example is if i put off with one commercial idea (two weeks work) i am set off for next TWO YEARS OF NO WORK. BUT there is a CHANCE OF LUCK involved, like Mr. Gratzon had - he tried Kashmir inport, Ice Cream business, and on the end Call-Back Telephone business.
I failed too too many times, and my mother and close relatives rant WHY I DONT WORK??
Well i work but on something that can set me off for the rest of life, althogh others tell me "IN YOUR DREAMS!!". I worked in factories, fishing ships, building sites and i can tell you that the work is for someone who doesn't have nothing better to doo!
There are some guys and girls who enjoy what they doo with their hands, and that is ok, but they are not acting on the GLOBAL SCALE,
that is BUILD ONCE - SCHEMATISE - USE MANY!!

There is one anegdote, well rather a real fact (unfortunately i didn't remember all the details but Googled it now :=) where
efficiency manager Frank Gilberth reduced bricklayers motion went FROM 18 TO YUST 5!!!

That is, a total stranger to bricklayer work took just watching and thinking (and little practicing :) to cut 13 unnecessary mooves!!
NOW THAT IS A SCHOOL OF LAZINESS!!!

Cheers

[Mayo]

Oh, i forgot to tell something more :)

Just day before i watched first piece of series about China uprisal. Well besides all the wealth i saw YOUNG TEENAGE MEN AND WOMEN WITHOUT ARMS, FINGERS AND EYES, now does it seem to all you guys and girls that the cheap goods are worth that price???!!!
It is ok for China and other second-world :)
countries to prosper, but do you see the future of humans as just PIECE OF FLESH, A MACHINE?? Humans have ON PURPOSE A STAND UP POSITION, all our sceleton alingment is supposed to LOOK AT THE HORIZON! We have surpassed to have OUR HEAD AT THE SAME POSITION AS OUR ASS!! LETS GIVE A CHIMPANSEE THAT LEISURE :))

Humans are supposed to advance and be lazy, and that is not mentally lazy but ECONOMICALLY LAZY (on no-one's harm - HARMONY). Humans must ulitmatelly leave physicall work and CENTER ON LEVERAGE OF IDEAS!

[Cathy Thorsen]

Fred, You are my new best friend and a man after my own heart. :-) Truly, if it doesn't come from passion, what real value does it have?

[BooTCaT]

Hey , man . Great blog and especially great Lazy style .

Im happy , there are many people who support my Smart Lazy concept .
But im sad , i have found your blog too late .

Hey , Keep ur magic going . I am loving your every little post .

[naresh]

The only person at work that I can call absolutely, well and truly lazy is our project manager - but he also happens to be a smart guy (as in letting all others do the "hard work").

[Mayo]

Say, how about that 110 thousand (75 K Unionised + 35 K non-unionised) layed off workers at Ford :)

Were Ford's managers lazy or hyperactive?? :)

[Reginald]

Is there a lazy way to build an opt-in list to promote any business? I'm not good a getting the traffic part to get the opt-in. There's a great irnoy in all this and anyone is welcome to help me out.

By the way, I'm lazy in training :)

[Ralph]

I don't consider myself LAZY but I am working on it. :) I used to drive transport for a living. I worked long hours and spent very little time with my family (one day a week) and I spent that day sleeping. How do you get hard work is better when you have no time to enjoy life or your kids. So I quit driving and decided that there was a better easier way to make a living and still have time to spend with my family. So I got interested in working online and doing less actual work. Now 2 years later I am lazing around my house doing almost nothing and getting more money and more done with almost no effort at all. I spend maybe 6 hours a week online and make more money than I did working my butt off driving truck. So I have to agree with fred, there is a lazy way to success. Thanks Fred for the motivation to be lazier. ;)

[Gosmelltheflowers]

Finally! Someone who advocates laziness, someone who compares it to beauty! Ah, sweet, sweet bliss of lounging on the couch.

I try to find ways to make money without a 'job' because its just too hard. How can people stand being told when they can be sick, when they can go home and when they have to wake up in the morning every day for the rest of their lives?

Our blog, by the way I have to do my own little plug here, follows the ideal of enjoying life and smelling the flowers at they say at GoSmelltheFlowers

[Richard Kim]

I'm trying to incorporate Frad's teaching into my business situation.
I'm a network marketer and I sell my products and my business opportunity. I'm trying to make my contacts with people enjoyable, relaxed and easy. This part is going well. I'm learning to enjoy my meetings with people. The results aren't showing up quickly but I get the feeling that I'm vibrating good energy to people around me.

The greatest creativity I need to implement needs to be placed around calling people.
I don't call people regularly and I don't look forward to phoning sessions. There's gotta be an easy and enjoyable way of calling people. Can anybody help?

[Becky]

i truly agree with you

not only is laziness the key to finding the easiest ways to do things, but it's also the key to never being dissapointed

i get good grades at uni, don't get me wrong, but i am always happy with what i get because i know i didn't try that hard. so when i get the best in the class and i know i took the easiest route possible with the least amount of effort i know i have manipulated the system

achievement doesn't come from hard work, it comes from knowing when to put that little bit of effort in that gets the result. the rest of your time can be spent in the hammock

[DJ]

YOU ARE A FRAUD.

You are not now, nor have you ever been, a truly lazy person. Finding your passion and creating your life in a way that takes advantage of your passion, takes work and discipline. If you are able to overcome laziness and make this happen, THEN you can create a life that serves your passions and thus your life does not seem to be work so you think you are "lazy". HA!!

You remind me of "procrastinators" who laugh about being procrastinators. If you are truly a procrastinator, which most truly lazy people are, then you know that it's not a laughing matter.

I have a documented IQ of 140. I also have a very good job and earn about $120,000 a year. However, because I am lazy, I currently owe the IRS $35,000, owe delinquent property taxes on my house of over $6000, owe over $10,000 in credit cards, and am living paycheck to paycheck with only about $20 a day to feed, clothe, and entertain my family of five. I am in this crappy situation because I AM LAZY!! I always choose the easy route, not the right route. I'm lucky that I'm not worse off than I am.

You think you are lazy because you think of creative "not working" ways to get things done. Here's where you are confused -- lazy people have no desire to "get things done." Lazy people say "I need to pay the electric bill." In your definition of "lazy" that person would think "I could get off of my butt, go get an envelope, write a check, put a stamp on it, drive the post office, and pay the bill, OR, I can sit here on my butt, watch TV, call the electric company and pay the bill with a credit card, without leaving the comfort of my couch! Yay me!" A TRULY lazy person thinks "I could get . . . where is that remote?"

Please don't pretend you have a clue into what lazy means.

[Fred Gratzon]

You have never met me and you don't know me, yet you call me a fraud. And in capital letters no less. You definitely got your knickers in a twist so let me try to clarify things for you.

There is no word in the English language that accurately describes what I mean. Laziness comes close but it is burdened with a negative connotation. You only see laziness through your angry lens and have concluded it is only bad, but I see the positive side of laziness and by doing so I have found laziness to be an extremely valuable and powerful force, if, of course, you know how to harness it properly. But to do so takes a fresh, creative look. When you properly harness your God-given laziness, you find magical ways where doing less accomplishes more. Then you achieve success by avoiding work altogether.

It is a great way to live.