Don’t Wait for Opportunity — Work Hard to Achieve What You Want

The secret to getting everything in life

When it comes to success in life, two factors are at play: luck and hard work. Among these two factors, one outweighs the other.

If luck and hard work don’t meet, it’s quite impossible to achieve success. But is it always the case? Or there’s another way where without one, you can still become successful?

Well, let’s see.

Hard work is the key

In his book, Outliers: The Story Of Success, Malcolm Gladwell digs deep to determine why some people succeed in this life while others don’t. The primary component that came out was — opportunity.

Opportunity in life is as significant as oxygen when it comes to success. It’s true. But my problem is hard work often underestimated in the success equation.

Some believe that, no matter how hard you work, if an opportunity doesn’t present itself, it would be hard to succeed. That is not always true because many people fail to be successful despite having all the opportunities available to them, while some others succeed without having much luck.

To those who, without opportunities, have become successful, what’s the secret? What things did they do that set them apart from their peers? What’s the success factor that they employed that the others didn’t?

Was there even any factor? And the answer is yes! It’s hard work.

The power of hard work in the success equation

In as much as we talk of opportunity to be a significant factor that guarantees success, underestimating hard work is impossible in this equation.

Despite all the opportunities available to many, they couldn’t become successful. In contrast, their peers who didn’t have a dime of opportunity may become successful by working hard.

Meaning success in life, with or without opportunity, comes through hard work. We can say hard work is everything when it comes to success.

Opportunity? Yes! is part of the equation. But the opportunity may not bring success if one doesn’t work hard to make the best out of that opportunity.

It signifies that success in life is all about hard work and not opportunity, even though opportunity counts.

“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” — Booker T. Washington

Discipline is the holy grail

For success to come about, it takes hard work. For hard to come about, what does it take? Discipline. It is the fuel that drives hard work and success in every endeavor. If you want something out of this life and without discipline, you cannot achieve it.

I have never seen any world-class performer or business that became successful without getting off their ass daily. Everybody, after their idea conception, goes to work every day without excuse.

Discipline is the holy grail to success. The one who can impose on themselves the commitment to work every day is the one that becomes successful.

I am a writer. As someone with the dream of becoming a bestseller, I know for this dream to come true, I need to sit and write every day whether I feel like it or not because that’s the only way.

The same applies to you, too, concerning what you want to achieve in life. There’s no other way. You have to work whether you feel like it or not.

“Discipline is doing what you really don’t want to do so you can do what you really want to do.” — Jeff Fisher

Luck vs. hard work

It’s an indisputable fact that, for success to come about in one’s life, there should be an opportunity. Opportunity plays a significant role, no doubt, but hard work tops it all.

Without the discipline and the hard work, none of these people and companies could have become what they are today.

“I never took a day off in my 20s. Not one. I worked really, really hard in my 20s.” — Bill Gates

He is a man who, according to his story, had luck. But without hard work, only luck does not go a long way. So, what’s the lesson here?

Simple! Hard work is the key. Without it, success isn’t possible despite the opportunity.

Opportunity is excellent when it comes around. Until that, hard work will see you through. Put in the work. And let’s see if, without opportunity, you wouldn’t be successful.

Final thoughts

It always great when there’s the opportunity towards what you are doing in life to achieve success. But to become successful, you need hard work. Because, with all the opportunity in the world available at your doorstep, if you don’t put in the work, success isn’t possible.

Hard work is everything. You want to take it seriously if you’re going to be an achiever and not a dreamer.

Pray for opportunities to come your way as it makes a difference. But most importantly, work hard. That’s where everything about success lies.

Thank you for reading.

If you are interested to read more of my writings, you may read the following one.