What To Do When Working Harder Doesn’t Work

ByMatthew

In today’s economy, and the economy of the future, it is not enough to work harder — or smarter.

What’s needed is being willing to serve more. And to fail* more (*to imagine, design, create, make excellent but not perfect, ship v. 1.0,  gather feed-forward, improve . . . and ship v. 2.0, and so on, and so on . . . ).

What I’ve seen from so many people working harder is burn-out, ill-health, neglect of family and Self, lack of planning and financial disarray. And sadly, some people working smarter these days are merely more self-involved, manipulative and “me-first.”

We need more people looking for real problems to solve, and offering customer-centric solutions. More people digging in to figure out what their true talents and purpose are, and finding ways to deploy them, in service of something larger than themselves. More people looking at how we’re using resources and developing better, and more sustainable, methods. More people looking at how we treat each other, and helping us do better.

The beauty of the above is that they are Win/Win. Both the individual and society benefit from (actually) useful solutions.

What are you yearning to do? Where do your talents, interests and passions align with actual needs and problems? The marketplace is indeed global, and the Long Tail means there are markets for many more things than before, and more opportunities for everyone.

Get inspired. Get clear. Get started.

Similar Posts

  • Where Success Starts

    ByMatthew

    The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself. – Mark Caine That step comes when you believe, sufficiently, in your ability to be okay in some other reality than your current one. That step comes when you trust that your Identity…

  • How To Measure Yourself

    ByMatthew

    Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. – John Wooden Your greatest – and longest lasting – growth will come from you regularly examining the gap between what you do and what you were capable of doing. By continually examining your results, your honest-to-goodness output against…

  • 195 lb Weight Goal

    ByMatthew

    Last week I stated my intention to weigh 195 pounds on, or before, Sunday November 17th. It did not not happen                     Did I fail? Nope. In fact I learned some things about myself and what doesn’t work. My diet was poor and did not support…

  • How Are You Learning, Growing?

    ByMatthew

    Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead. – Tom Peters The only job security, if there is such a thing, is intelligently growing your skills and abilities to meet future challenges and opportunities with ambition, capability and capacity. What your learning plan? How are you growing?

  • Anxiety or Anticipation?

    ByMatthew

    Anxiety is caused by a lack of control, organization, preparation, and action. – David Kekich There’s a difference between anxiety or (slightly nervous) anticipation. I’ve found that before a key event, like a job interview or a first date, my mental energy heightens. This can be a good thing, or not. If I’m feeling anxious,…