Does hard work always result to success or is hard work sometimes just that, hard work?

randomladyaj 2017-05-20 16:53:44 UTC #1

Hypothetical scenario: Three people are working towards the same goal. One person is sweating, putting in hours, or anything that is considered working hard, while the other finds a way to do the job quickly, easily without much effort. The last person is working as much as the first person putting in the work. The first two reach their goal and are successful while the other one failed. Was working hard a factor in being successful?

Strontium 2017-05-20 17:13:13 UTC #2

There's actually a TVTrope similar to this called Technician vs Performer!

We like to imagine that hard work is always rewarded but in reality that isn't always so. Which sucks! Some people are overachievers, like myself. Some people are procrastinators, like my sister. Both of us get good grades in school. Mine are a bit better, but hers are still very respectable. I probably work harder than she does, but in the end it doesn't have that much of an impact.

In a creative pursuit, you can work as hard as you can and still not get as far as someone who works less hard but gets more lucky. It's so disheartening! But that's just life. Try to find a way to get what you want, even if it takes more time than someone else.

keii4ii 2017-05-20 17:26:42 UTC #3

If there's one certain thing in life, it's that nothing is certain in life. That applies to hard work. Even the combination of hard work AND quality/talent is not guaranteed to bring you success.

That doesn't mean hard work has no practical value, though. It's kind of like D&D. Working hard and getting better at something is like having better stats. In the end, even a character with the best stats can die a horrible death just because the dice roll said so, but you still want to help your chances the best you can.

elixiadragmire 2017-05-20 17:27:47 UTC #4

both responses here have the nailed it.

randomladyaj 2017-05-20 17:38:24 UTC #5

@Strontium Thanks for the link. Now I think I have a name for it haha. Do you think that if you didn't work as hard as you are right now, you'll still have the same results in your grades?

@keii4ii What do you think of those that solely believe that if you work hard you will be successful, and if you're not successful in whatever task you're doing, you're not working hard enough?

In my opinion, working hard for something is more subjective, it works for some not well for others, and it doesn't work well in an objective setting. Do you think working "smarter" is far more plausible? I was hoping someone would mention the phrase "Work smarter, not harder." Has anyone heard of that?

keii4ii 2017-05-20 17:55:42 UTC #6

Even working hard AND smart doesn't guarantee success. It gives you a much better chance, but in the end, it's still a chance, not a guarantee.

elixiadragmire 2017-05-20 18:00:12 UTC #7

For those that think hard work is the sole cause for sucess are a: in for a nasty shock when reality comes a knocking or b: are blinkered to a somewhat more lucky life they've lead or path they've been given.

https://digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/privileged-kids-on-a-plate-pencilsword-toby-morris/

radicles 2017-05-20 18:42:46 UTC #8

i like to think that to achieve your goals you don't have to only work hard- you have to work smart.
let's pretend someone tells you to build a tower, and you spend hours and hours sweating and breaking rocks and trying to place them together, hard work. that tower could have been built much more easily if you tried a different path, perhaphs used wood instead of breaking rocks in the construction, you get what i'm saying? hard work is nice, yes, but don't count only on it to achieve your goals and gain recognition. be smart, flip your ideas around a little

shazzbaa 2017-05-20 18:45:38 UTC #9

(from this comic by Spike)

I mean, I've heard the phrase, but I don't think it's super helpful in a general sense. I don't agree with the idea that working smart precludes working hard, like if you're working too hard you must not be doing it the smart way, or that once you find the way to "work smart" you don't have to "work hard." And if you find a clever way to accomplish something that seems easier, that's not automatically the better option in every scenario.

Work smart AND work hard, but keep evaluating whether it's worth all this work or not. If I'm pouring work into something that isn't paying out for me and doesn't seem to be worth what I'm putting into it, I think to keep saying "just gotta keep working hard!" or "just gotta work smarter!!" are both foolish after a point. Is the work I'm doing worth it, even if a mythical "success" never comes? Is my goal realistic, or do I need to rethink that? There's a lot more to it than just Work [Hard/Smart] = Succeed

LordVincent 2017-05-20 19:55:36 UTC #10

Hard work doesn't guarantee success, nothing is ever guaranteed.
However it significantly raises your chances, especially in the art industry. Even moreso in the comic industry, people want a lot of content and they want it fast, or they want it good. Answering to those desires will raise your chances of being noticed.

At the end of the day, we should do what we do because we love it, right? Hard work should be enjoyable on some level. If it isn't, maybe you're in the wrong business, or being a hobbyist would be a better option for you.

randomladyaj 2017-05-20 22:05:51 UTC #11

@elixiadragmire that comic is an interesting perspective and thought provoking. I also thought that people always have help when it came to success, no one is "self"made without help from others. Humbling indeed.

@radicles very interesting. I do agree with this and it makes sense to me.IMO I find the term "work smarter not harder" more efficient in results.

@shazzbaa Hmm, I see your point but what if it's not the goal that's the problem but the method by which you're doing it? Going by comics, In my opinion, I find the comic posted as an idea of "working smarter", it's quick, simple and also get's the point across rather than the artist rendering it in more detail and putting in several hours which I would equal to being hard work in getting the point across. When I think of working smarter, I think of finding the best way to get the job done efficiently. Why do you think when people, like in interviews and such, simply say "I am successful because I worked hard." When there might be more to it than that?

@JohnVincent I maybe I'm completely wrong, and I've mention this before somewhere else and heard this several times , but a lot of success in the art biz is because of who you know the majority of the time and a little bit of hard work. Do you find this true or have seen it before? I agree that we should do what we love but not everyone has that luxury in my opinion. They work hard from paycheck to paycheck in and endless cycle, barely having time to do what they love and sometimes give up on it altogether. In my opinion I don't think hard work should be enjoyable but that's not a bad thing. Also, I thought that hobbyist were the ones who were supposed to enjoy what they did whereas when you're serious it gets less enjoyable.

I want to say thank you again for the comments, I really do appreciate and enjoy learning from different thoughts and perspectives about different topics that cross my mind. It seems like everyone believes that working harder doesn't guarantee results which is very interesting because I thought that I'd see a "working hard does equal success always" idea and hear their thoughts in the discussion. I also like the idea that working harder may not guarantee you'll be successful, but it does help.

Nonetheless, What is hard work for you in a creative sense (putting in the hours, shelling out multiple pieces of art work in a small period of time, or maybe taking your time getting one piece just right)? Is it different for everyone? Do some professions work harder than others or is it equal in all? Does that make one profession more valuable than another? What if you work day and night, and you are riddled with, "you're not working hard enough" being thrown at you. Are you? Or, "your work isn't hard work"? Is it?

LordVincent 2017-05-20 23:03:48 UTC #12

This used to be the case but with the rise of the internet it's becoming much less so. The internet paves way for many more hard workers with few contacts.
A lot of people in the older generation kept advicing me to go to a specific comic school because there's good contacts there, told me to contact publishing companies, to talk to gallery owners, etc, to build a set of contacts. I tried all of this and it never worked for me because manga is looked down upon by traditional comic business (at least here) and if you have an anime-esque addition to your paintings no gallery will take you seriously. The only thing that ever worked for me was writing about the stuff I know and like rather than what I thought would sell, working hard to make pages at a fast pace rather than detailed art since I'm better in speed than detail, and using online tools to promote my art. The only valuable contact I can think of coming across that has been wanting to work with/help me has been my few communications with Tapas, and that didn't happen until I had already worked myself to a certain spot anyway. And that's a pretty loose contact. It's just a merchandise collab.
I'm not good with contacts. I have aspergers syndrome, so I'm developmentally lagging behind other people my age when it comes to the social stuff.
For someone who's good with networking, that's a good way to go about it. But for the rest of us, we need to get creative and use other methods.
There isn't one unified single way to success, and there isn't just one single way to define success either.

But generally, in traditional media, contacts leading to success is a common route.
Online, it's become the opposite. Popularity can lead to contacts, which can lead to a more stable position as a professional creator. You see it happen for youtubers and musicians all the time!

Strontium 2017-05-20 23:19:05 UTC #13

@angelajal91See, if I didn't work as hard academically as I did, if I didn't take copious notes and start papers two weeks in advance or put in many hours on art projects... I'd still probably have great grades because I'm very smart and talented (and humble XD). But my emotional and psychological issues that prevent my talent and intelligence from working - if I hadn't put in the effort to maintain my mental health I would have bad grades. I actually left my original college because I became terribly depressed : (

UncleVlad 2017-05-21 00:07:11 UTC #14

Human beings being what they are- Networking is actually one of your best tools.

Sure, working hard can be part of the equation, but if nobody sees or knows about all your hard work, its kind of all for naught.

What i'm talking about is this- There is this small time comic artist i know name J.R. Mounts. He's mostly self published, but i like his stuff. He may never be an international success, but i gave him the names of a bunch of stuff in NC and he's done every comic convention in the state. I didn't expect much, vut he took what I gave him and he's building his own fan base the old fashioned way- By being out there and talking to people. He's got 3 titles and a ton of art he sells when he's at cons. He's friendly, fun to talk to; and most importantly, he's passionate about what he does.

You kind of have to do more than just work- Work hard, network harder. No one thing is going to determine how you do.

I'm a terrible networker, but i'm slowly learning. It doesn't come naturally to everyone.

shazzbaa 2017-05-21 01:02:41 UTC #15

This depends, again, on your goal. Is your goal "complete a comic?" then yes! wasting time on extra rendering is pointless, and doesn't serve your goal. Is your goal "complete a beautifully rendered comic?" then no, skimping on the rendering to finish a comic more quickly won't get you closer to your goal.

"Work smarter" is a simple catchphrase that's easy to say, but it encompasses a lot of ideas, and I think it can be more helpful sometimes to consider those ideas -- figuring out what your goals are, and figuring out how to prioritise the most important goals, and determining the best way to reach the goals that are most important to you. Many of us have lots of goals -- communicate a story, make a nice-looking comic, grow our readership, grow the engagement of the readership we have, etc. How you, personally, prioritise those goals is going to determine what "working smarter" looks like for you, which sacrifices are "smart," and which elements of hard work are essential.

I mean, if you work very hard, and then get a lucky break, then what did you do to reach that position? You worked hard. You didn't do anything to make the lucky break happen, but your hard work was what enabled you to take advantage of the lucky break.
If someone asks me "how do I get a following on tumblr," I'm going to talk about how often I post and the kinds of things I post -- I'm going to tell them things that I did that contributed to getting a following. I'm not going to just say, "well, you have to get reblogged by the right person in the right fandom at the right time," -- because that'll help, but if you just sit around waiting for that to happen, it isn't going to happen. Instead, I'm going to direct them to things they can do to help them reach that point where they can get reblogged by the right person.

That said, it does feel disingenuous to ignore your privilege and fortune when someone asks you how you made it where you are -- I think it's good to make those disclaimers, and more folks should! But even when those things are acknowledged, I think the focus is still going to be on things you did moreso than things that happened to you.

I don't quite agree with this! A lot of times "who you know" is the source of an opportunity -- but you can't take advantage of those opportunities without a lot of hard work. You can't make those connections without a lot of hard work. It's easy to see someone get an opportunity because of their connections, and think "I could never get there without that connection, no matter how hard i work" and decide that must mean that connections matter more than hard work...... but imo the truth is that (a) they're connected and (b) having connections doesn't make hard work less relevant. I know there are exceptions, but every well-connected professional I know is also an extremely dedicated hard worker, and I don't think it's wise to count on being that one exception that can get away with lots of connections and little work.

lunaartemisasama 2017-05-21 06:09:04 UTC #16

Working hard is a factor, luck is also a factor. For me being creative or smart enough to make a thing easier is also hard work.

kyupol 2017-05-21 13:26:17 UTC #17

It's about working smart AND hard at the end of the day.

LordVincent 2017-05-21 16:17:36 UTC #18

They go hand in hand imo
Working smart requires you to work hard, still. Figuring out how to work smart is hard work. It's just slightly more effective work.

tayo_rafferty 2017-05-21 17:15:19 UTC #19

Unfortunately nothing is guaranteed in this world. Success is a combination of hard work, strong character and the right opportunities. This is obviously a simplification but it works pretty well in terms of wrapping your head around "success." Two of these factors can be controlled: hard work and strong character but the third is not decided by the individual. So just keep working hard and improving yourself and you might find success, or not.

LCT_m_a_d 2017-05-21 18:18:54 UTC #20

To be honest a lot of people will talk about "hard work" vs "smart work". One lesson I'm constantly learning is it really doesn't matter until you define what "sucessful" looks like in terms of result. Success is very relative to what your goals and purposes are.

Most people abandon their orignial purposes to achieve what others have. However that means your target for success is going to change by other people. (Number of pageviews, pursuing a certain career, becoming unique etc...) basically you'll be hitting a moving target as opposed to hitting multiple still targets. This is why people love lifehacks and trying to figure out steps to achieving happiness. They will ultimately get you nowhere fast.

Instead of saying "I want to be a better artist", constantly say "Im doing this one art peice and what to achieve xyz, what do I need to do for this one specific task". One day you'll look back and say "wow, I did a lot of successful things now that I think about it"

Ultimately I recommend creating your own impractical but measurable definition of "success" that makes you and only you personally happy. Once you have that you'll know if you need to step on the gas (work harder), or change directions(work smarter).