Marcel Deer
You know those people who seem to have been born with silver spoons in their mouths?
Sometimes, that’s actually not the case at all.
They just seem like they were born rich because they have incredible achievements but never seem to have to work hard.
They simply have a whole bunch of tricks up their sleeves, but these aren’t things like having a rich dad or being royalty.
These are things that you can copy and work into your own life to help you work less and achieve more.
So what do they do?
Here are eight habits of high achievers who never work hard.
1) Embracing failure
High achievers don’t worry about making mistakes or failing at their tasks the way that most of us do.
Don’t get me wrong – of course, they don’t want to fail.
But they also know that failure is unavoidable if you push yourself.
Since they understand that failure is always a part of development, they stop being afraid of it and learn to accept and even embrace it.
After all, when you fail, you can learn what doesn’t work and what you’ve done wrong.
You’ll see that your assumptions were wrong or your calculations were off so that next time, you’ll have a much better chance of success.
Once you change your perspective about failure and making mistakes, you’ll be able to do away with the fear of failure that has been holding you back.
And with that fear gone… look out, world!
2) Using intrinsic motivation
A few years ago, I was talking to a friend about starting a small sideline business together.
He suggested opening up an axe-throwing place. To him, it made perfect sense. There weren’t any in our area, and it was a fast-growing activity that he felt would surely work out.
To me, though, it didn’t make any sense at all.
If you’re a high-flying millionaire with big bucks to invest, you can probably start or buy businesses of any kind and just hire people to manage them.
For us, though, this sideline would mean we’d be doing the development and managing ourselves, at least for the initial period.
But I don’t really know anything about axes. I’ve never chucked one in my life (unless you count tripping over one in a wood lot and cutting my knee open) and have no desire to get started.
I had absolutely zero motivation to get into it. I had no knowledge or interest in this area and I couldn’t see how that would change anytime soon.
High achievers who don’t work hard know about this rule: do what you’re interested in.
This gives you intrinsic motivation and draws on your existing knowledge. Then you don’t have to work hard to learn about a new industry or to motivate yourself to work.
3) Never stopping learning
Not that learning is bad.
If you are working in an area that you enjoy and that really tickles your pickle, then learning more about it probably won’t ever stop.
It also won’t feel like a burden.
I’m keen on construction, and I read articles and watch videos about tools and techniques all the time.
I’m not working hard, though – I’m having fun!
And that’s the trick.
If you can choose something that you’re completely fascinated by, you’ll never lose your motivation to learn more about it.
It won’t feel like work, but it will help you gain knowledge and achieve more and more.
4) Prioritizing organization
You see some people out there hustling and working their butts off, even if they never seem to get very far ahead.
My cousin Joe is a perfect example.
He’s a contractor and spends all day, every day, driving between job sites, meetings with clients, and supply shops. He spends more time in his car than just about anywhere else.
The problem is that he’s not very organized, and he’s almost always driving back and forth between sites or running out of materials. He ends up being late for meetings constantly, and this often loses him clients, too.
I’ve asked him hundreds of times why he doesn’t use his phone or a planner to organize and prioritize his tasks, but he always shrugs off my suggestions and says he isn’t afraid of hard work.
Seems he’s afraid of smart work, though. Sorry, Joe, but it has to be said!
If he took time to prioritize his tasks for each day and put his effort in accordingly, he’d be a lot more organized and would get just as much work done in less time. He’d also win more clients.
All he has to do is prioritize organization.
5) Delegating tasks and responsibilities
Something else that would give Joe a real advantage would be if he were to hire an assistant.
He could use a virtual assistant for just a few hours a day to handle calls and paperwork, or he could take on a staff person to take care of supply purchasing and delivery for him.
But he’s always been worried that this would mean an extra cost to him, and he already works on tight margins.
Like so many other people out there, he doesn’t see the value of delegating tasks and adheres to the old philosophy of “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.”
Well, high achievers who never work hard have the opposite philosophy.
They always ask themselves, “Why should I do this when I could get someone else to do it for me?”
And they usually can get it done cheaper, easier, and faster by delegating responsibilities to others. These can be people who work under you in a company, your own workers, or even freelancers working anywhere in the world.
It’s so much easier to get work done these days by people who know how to do different tasks more efficiently than you, so why not employ them?
They make money, and you save time. Win-win, right?
6) Taking breaks
It sounds counterintuitive, but taking breaks can really help boost your productivity.
Really? Does that mean we should have people leaving their desks to play Frisbee in the middle of the day or napping around the office?
If you ask some of the most powerful companies in the world, like Google and Apple, they’ll say, “Absolutely!”
For one thing, adults around the world are not getting enough sleep. In the US, the average adult gets six hours and 31 minutes, while in Japan, that’s down to six hours and 22 minutes per night.
Stressed and working too hard?
Sounds like it!
Taking a nap when you need one can boost your productivity when you wake refreshed, rather than staying tired all day.
Little breaks to exercise or distance yourself from your work can give you new perspectives and let you come back with new ideas.
In other words, taking a bit of time from your work helps you do it better and more efficiently. Breaks actually save time!
7) Creating and upholding boundaries
How can you not work hard if you’re constantly taking on new projects and tasks?
High achievers will tell you that you can’t just say yes to everything that comes along or every responsibility thrust your way.
You’ll get spread too thin and will burn out in no time.
So, how do you learn to say no when you need to?
This is the important habit of building boundaries. In this case, we’re looking especially at boundaries that can protect you from work overload.
You need to be aware of how much work you can successfully take on and still stay happy and productive. Once you know your limit, you have to say no to anything that will exceed it.
I know you might want to please people by helping them out where you can, but if this is at the expense of your own health or sanity, how could it be worth it?
8) Using great tools
Business these days is truly globalized, and so is the development of science and technology. So when one person anywhere in the world invents a new tool, it finds its way around the world in no time flat.
As long as you keep adopting great tools, they’ll do the work for you.
Think about it.
We used to use hand saws to cut wood for furniture. Then, power saws were invented to do the job ten times faster. And now robots do it in factories for us.
The same goes for software and hardware tools of all kinds, from robots to apps to the latest AI technologies.
If you want to save time and achieve great results without ever having to work hard, harnessing these is the answer.
That’s it!
These eight habits of high achievers who never work hard can now be yours. All you have to do is assimilate them into your life and start achieving more while you work smarter, not harder.
