The older I get the more I realise that money isn’t the answer to problems. Yes, of course money helps – it helps a lot. And there is a point where having enough money generates money, with not very much [of your] effort – I’m not quite there yet!
But in business and in life, money is not answer to problems. Attitude and effort is everything.
In business there are times when throwing money at a problem really helps – like buying equipment to make a job more efficient. But spending money on something doesn’t mean you don’t need to put the effort in – spending money on the wrong thing (and I’ve done that too) can actually make things worse. Attitude and effort in targeting how to invest that precious resource is essential, just as it is making sure you use the investment effectively.
Why Money Isn’t The Answer (But It Helps)
I’ve seen many cases where organisations hire expensive people, and then just expect them to deliver results with little support or leadership. It’s not long before the expensive resource (interim or perm) becomes less effective as they are unable to get things done – irrespective of their skills and experience. As a leader or manager is it not good enough to simply expect someone else to deliver, when you yourself are not putting in the effort and your attitude sucks.
That sense of relief when we’ve just spent a load of money. A new car, a house, a big TV – the feeling of everything is going to be alright now. You’ve got it. You’ve done it. The same is business – but just because you’ve made the financial investment doesn’t mean you can slack off, it’s the time to double-down.
I don’t see money as the answer, I see it as a catalyst.
Attitude – The Mindset and Motivation
Our attitude drives us forward – OR – keeps us in the same place. Attitude is infectious. Whatever the attitude is, it prevails and spreads – good or bad. It can be like a positive force for change, growth and success – and this is the attitude that get’s things started, and keeps things moving. The right attitude gets people behind ideas and visions.
It’s attitude that makes people get up and go to work, reach out to contacts, make new connections, learn more, dream more, take pride in achievements, and reflect on mistakes.
Henry Ford captured attitude perfectly when he said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”
But attitude is only half of it. Actually doing something makes things happen – but you also have to put the effort in.
Effort – Keeping It Going
We all know someone who is full of good ideas, boundless energy – but they never really achieve their goals. Putting the effort in to achieve our goals takes time, patience, practice, and often a lot of repetition.
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”
Effort is the thing that is the hard work. It turns attitude into results.
Effort is also required to keep the attitude going. It’s hard to get up every morning and have that creative, drive, positive attitude.
Effort also creates habits. You can create the habit of a right attitude. It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy. We
Doing things over and over again, until we get there, until we succeed. Until we finish that proposal, or make those calls, and yes then we have to do it again tomorrow and the day after.
You don’t need ‘effort’ to get to the end of the working day, you just need to turn up for that.
Effort is the repetitive bit and the hard bit, but it’s the most essential. It’s what get’s us to the end of writing the report, the end of the detailed design, the end of the constructive meeting, finishing those phone calls, or the end of the online training.
Have a boring day at work, waiting for the end of day rush out the door – or are you making the effort and actually get stuff done. Turning that attitude into something.
With the guidance of attitude your effort is never wasted.
But you need both attitude and effort to succeed, otherwise your either just someone full of great ideas and good intentions, or a fool working at nothing for nothing.
A Final Word – Don’t Burn Out
It’s fantastic me saying all this, but it can be quiet exhausting both mentally and physically.
And as much as attitude can give you energy and motivation, and effort can give satisfaction and pride – we’re not super heroes. We are only human – and we need room to simply be with friends, family and things we enjoy doing without the endless pressures we put on ourselves (or others put on us).
It is important recognise when we need to give ourselves a break and down tools, to breath, to reflect and to recharge our batteries.
