Message #382
Thursday, July 5, 2001
"The sweat of hard work is not to be displayed. It is much more graceful to be favored by the gods."
Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan are good friends. They have a number of things in common. They are rich, black, good-looking, well-known, and well-liked. They are also great athletes. Not just ordinarily great, but among the two or three greatest in the history of their sports.
When most people talk about Jordan and Woods, they talk about talent. What natural gifts they were given! Lucky them! But when they talk to each other about their success, they talk about work: how often they practiced, how much they prepared, how determined they were. And if you speak to athletes who are close to them, they will tell you the same thing -- that what is most remarkable about Michael and Tiger is not their talent but their work ethic.
I think it's fair to say that anyone who gets to the top of his field is a hard worker. And that's probably why most Americans admire people who work hard. I certainly do. It's different here in Europe (especially in Catholic Europe) where working hard is considered somewhat undignified. I first discovered this years ago when I was a tutor to a French student. "There is a word for a hard-working student," she told me, "but it's rude to use it in public." Here in Italy, everyone seems to be working -- but the way the Italians work is different. Success that comes easily and without effort seems to be preferred here.
I believe there is a direct relationship between hard work and success -- and that it applies equally to individuals, families, ethnic groups, cultural groups, and nations. Those who work harder achieve more.
Yes, talent helps. But talent is not something we can choose. It is given to us, just as are so many other "advantages" of life: what kind of family we are born into, what color skin we have, and even our native intelligence.
You can't increase your natural talents, but you can work hard to get better. And sometimes if you work hard enough, you will arrive at a point where your skills will look like natural talent. People will say to you, "Well, that's easy for you. You have a gift for such and such."
There are many talented people out there doing nothing, achieving nothing, and living unhappy lives. Talent is nice, but it isn't necessary. In fact, it's a two-edged sword. Having a gift for a certain something might rob you of the habit of hard work. If you don't have to try as hard, you never develop the work habits. In the beginning, you are the natural leader -- but as time passes, the less-talented overtake you.
Every super-successful person I know works a lot. "A lot" means 60 hours a week or more. How many hours are you working? How well prepared are you?
MN was telling me that the difference between Tiger Woods and other good golfers is that when Tiger Woods wins a game it feels like he did what he expected to do. He plays each game with the certain confidence that he is going to win. The same was true of Michael Jordan.
That level of confidence is not a natural talent in itself. Nor is it -- as many success coaches would argue -- the secret of success. A positive mental attitude is useful only when it is based on reality. You can think like a winner all day long, but if you don't have the skills and the stamina to beat your opponent, you probably won't.
Jordan and Woods approach their sports with supreme confidence because they know that they are supremely better at them than anyone else. They are good first and confident second. That's the difference between real confidence -- the quiet kind that each of them enjoys -- and the phony braggadocio that lesser athletes display.
Supreme confidence is based on certain knowledge, and certain knowledge is based on long, hard, and very focused work.
How hard are you working?
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Investor's Business Daily reports that a business in North Carolina, Nucor Corp., reimburses all full-time employees up to $2,200 a year for their children's college tuition for up to four years. Spouses of employees can receive $1,100 a year. Nucor President John Correnti said the payoff is "practically zero" turnover.
You know how I feel about fringe benefits: They are not necessary, but they are nice if you can afford them. (See Message #377.) This kind of tuition plan seems expensive. But it may not be as expensive as it seems. Assuming that each employee has 2.2 children, and that, on the average, about 10% to 20% of the work force has college-age children in any one year, the actual cost is between $220 and $500 per employee per year. That may very well be affordable. And it is a very nice thing to be able to do for employees struggling to pay those horrendous tuition bills.
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Many banks and jewelry stores in Rome have security doors. These are little glass cabins with one door that opens to the outside and another that deposits you inside. You press a button to open the first door. Then you step inside and press the button on the other, interior door -- through which the people inside look at you. They determine (somehow) if you are worthy to enter. If you pass muster, they buzz you in. Sometimes, as an added precaution, they have a set of lockers outside the security door. This is where you put your handbag -- the one they suspect is carrying your Uzi. If you don't deposit your bag there, they will yell at you in Italian. Of course, you won't know what the hell they are talking about. You will hear the word "chaive" and recognize it as "key," but you will shout at them that you don't have a key and why do you need a key anyway. Not understanding a word of English, they will take from your shouting and gesticulating that you really are the terrorist they feared and that there must indeed be an Uzi in your handbag. You will continue to yell at one another until the police arrive.
* * * * *
Last night, KFF and I stopped at a local supermarket in Trastevere for some roasted chicken and rice to bring home for our dinner with LSF and MCF. It was a warm evening, and I wanted a refreshing wine. Luckily, I had a cold bottle of Pinot Grigiot in the refrigerator. KFF does not like white wine, but I'm trying to get her to develop a taste for it. "In Rome," I said, "we must do as the Romans do." And the Romans prefer to drink light, dry whites when the weather is warm.
You should do the same. In hot weather, eat cold and drink light.
Pinot Grigiot is a great Italian white for warm weather. So is Frascati, which has the lightness and bubbles too.
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It won't be easy for you to work "calumny" (KAL-um-nee) into your next conversation. In fact, the only way I've ever made it work is when I'm exaggerating for effect. (Which, fortunately, is most of the time.) "Calumny" means "slander" or "defamation." The next time someone says something about you that (a) you don't like and (b) isn't true, shout "Calumny!" at them.
MMF
Copyright Early to Rise, 2001
* How to get wealthy as an employee
* How precarious are small businesses?
* It's Good to Know: When You're in Rome -- Traffic is an anarchist's dream
* Living Rich: Fake It Till You Make It -- The best Italian wines, officially
* Word to the Wise: Dais
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