While on my way to a 5K race this weekend, I passed by some strawberry fields in full bloom. It was early in the morning and you could see many workers out in the fields picking and packing strawberries. It was amazing to watch, as the workers were so concentrated on what they were doing and working extremely hard. From what I understand, most pickers get paid either by the pound or container that they fill, so the harder they work, the more they get paid.
You could see very clearly the reward for the work and it was translating into effort. I saw one woman who had to be close to 40 years old running in full sprint after dropping off a full basket, heading out to fill up her next one. No one was talking, lollygagging or texting. They were simply working on their task at hand to earn as much money as possible. This type of work is grueling physically and seems like small reward, but the desire to produce is high. It was inspiring to see that level of commitment with a total focus on the goal.
It got me to thinking about how many of us say we work hard, but do we really put in that type of effort? I love to succeed and in many ways, my job is similar. Since I am in sales, I need to push myself all the time. I love that aspect of my job and I know it has a lot to do with my sports background. After watching the field workers, I still gave pause though and remembered that I could do more. Those workers proved that it is important to push the envelope. Do you push yourself to the limits and really work hard or do you just perceive your work as hard but are not really putting in the effort?
While there are many tools to work smarter (not harder), those tools should never take away your effort. Motivational speaker, Eric Thomas, said: “In order to succeed, you need to want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe!” Here is a short video that he has posted on YouTube that is worth a view:
Do you want to succeed? Let’s commit together to make this day, this month, this year the best you have ever had!
