Work Hard

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Mark Twain

Ok, Mark Twain may not have ever actually said this. The origins of the quote are a bit of a mystery and it's been attributed to many different people. However, that doesn't really matter for what we are going to talk about.

There is some truth in this quote, for sure. When you are doing something that you love, that brings you joy and satisfaction and meaning, the individual tasks can definitely be lighter. Every moment, every action, is not laborious, as it can be when the job you have to do is something that you hate or find meaningless. Doing something you love most definitely alters the work that you are doing, and, more significantly, your attitude toward the work that you are doing. 

Very rarely does someone consider sitting down with a book and a cup of coffee as “work." That is, unless the person is in college, the book is a text book and the cup of coffee is necessary fuel for the day ahead. The point, though, is that someone that you enjoy doing is not usually something that you consider work. 

This brings up a bias that we tend to have toward the word, work. Work often has a negative connotation associated with it. Work is hard. Work is exhausting. Work is tedious. Work is a necessary evil that we are all trying to escape. 

I want to challenge that idea here, and in so doing, challenge Twain’s (supposed) quote.

Work is hard, yes. However, work can be, and often is, good, useful, fulfilling and meaningful, and by no means does doing something you love mean never working. 

The truth is, with almost anything that you love to do, work is absolutely a part of it. If you love someone you want to get better at it and to know more about it. You don't get better at something without work. 

There's another common saying, “Blood, Sweat & Tears" It's what people pour into those things that are impactful, that they are proud of. It's work. 

Think about writing a book. I haven't interviewed every author who’s ever written anything, but I can almost guarantee that there's not a single one who sat down one day and started writing with a smile on their face, a spring in their step, whistling while they … write, and continued in that manner until they were finished with a perfect story that they loved. They struggle, they stay up late, they argue with characters they create, they are brought to a halt with writer’s block, they debate about dialogue, plot, endings, etc… They work, and they work hard, sometimes for years or decades. They work BECAUSE they love what they do. 

Work and love are not antitheses of each other. They go hand in hand. Love and enjoyment give work purpose and meaning. Work is an expression of love.

With Labor Day this week I want to encourage you to work hard at the things that you love. 

Rather than, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Let's say, “Find a job (or hobby or skill or pastime) you enjoy doing, then work hard at it for the rest of your life.”