hard work – Live & Learn

It’s been a long day

February 1, 2017 by Live & Learn 26 Comments

What is definitely true is that I am never short of work, and I’m not even a “great” cleaner, or a treasure. I’m a good cleaner. I do skirting boards, light switches, polish the smudges and grease off kettles and toasters. I do the stuff other people don’t have the time or inclination to do. I’ll take all your boyfriend’s work shirts back to my flat to iron if your electricity is on the blink. I will go the extra mile, because the work is honest, very physical, and at the end of the day, I sleep the deep sleep of the justly tired.

~ Michele Kirsch: My life as a cleaner in London

Notes:

Do read Michele Kirsch’s entire excellent essay where she offers “insights from her writing career to her current job” in: My life as a cleaner in London (via independent.co.uk, Oct 25, 2015)
Related Posts: It’s been a long day

Filed Under: Inspire, Photography, Quotes Tagged With: clean, cleaner, fatigue, hard work, honest, Inspirational, michele kirsch, Photography, physical, Quotes, Work, Writing

The Secrets

June 18, 2014 by Live & Learn 19 Comments

NY Times: In a .338 Lifetime Average, Every Day Counted.

Tony Gwynn died of cancer on Monday at age 54.
Gwynn won a record 8 National League batting championships, he was a 15-time All-Star, he amassed 3,141 hits and gained acclaim as one of baseball’s most passionate students in the art of hitting…and his pudgy 5′ 11″ frame (give or take a few pounds) did not evoke streamlined athleticism.
Tony Gwynn may have embodied the game of baseball better than anyone else who has played. It was not because Gwynn was among its greatest hitters. It was because of the wonder he found in the game and the joy he took in applying his daily discoveries.
He spoke passionately about the attitude of the modern player. “They just feel like stuff is supposed to happen to them,” he said. “They’re not going to have to work for it. And that bugs me because I know how hard I had to work to get where I got.
Gwynn’s love for the low-key atmosphere in San Diego and his devotion to the Padres may have been costly. He shunned free agency in favor of multiyear contracts…But he told The Times during his final season: “Twenty years in one place, one city. It looks good.”
Tony Gwynn’s 2 Hitting Secrets: Work and More Work.

What a player. What a Man. What an inspiration. RIP Tony Gwynn.

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Photography, Quotes Tagged With: baseball, Grow, hard work, Inspirational, Passion, Photography, Quotes, Success, Tony Gwynn, Work

Your Muse. She prefers sweat.

October 17, 2013 by Live & Learn 20 Comments

“Is this magic? A miracle? No, it’s common as dirt.

It’s how creativity works. We show up. We do our best. Good things happen.

This is the intersection of Hard Work and Inspiration.

When we say “Put your ass where your heart wants to be,” this is what we mean.

This is what being a pro is all about. It’s why we practice self-discipline, self-validation, self-reinforcement…

We master all of those disciplines for one reason: so that we can be sitting there in the sweet spot when the Muse’s rocket ship passes by. That’s how the two sides work together. Hard work and inspiration.

Diligence produces inspiration because it shows respect to the goddess.

Genius and brilliance do not earn her favor. She prefers sweat. Get your butt in to the studio. Sit down at the piano. Boot up your iMac.

See yourself as the Muse sees you. You’ll know what to do.”

~ Stephen Pressfield, “You, as the Muse Sees You“

Image Credit: Patrick Wilbanks

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Photography, Quotes Tagged With: Artist, Creativity, hand, hard work, inspiration, muse, Photography, Quotes, resistance, Steven Pressfield, Work, Writer, Writing

Be grateful. Be VERY grateful for your current job.

May 2, 2013 by Live & Learn 29 Comments

Source: Lapham’s Quarterly

The Power of One lives on…

November 23, 2012 by Live & Learn 34 Comments

Bryce Courtenay died yesterday. He was the author of one of my favorite books: The Power of One. The Guardian writes the following about Courtenay: He was born into poverty in South Africa and studied journalism in London. He started writing late in life after a 30-year career in advertising. He was known for his dedication to work and prolific output, often writing for 12 hours a day and usually producing one new book at year. This short < 1 minute clip was produced by Courtenay a few days ago before he died. Take a moment and watch…it is inspiring and moving.

And here are two of my favorite passages from “The Power of One“: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Books, Grow, Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: author, Books, Bryce Courtenay, Courtenay, determination, hard work, inspiration, Inspire, Life, persevere, Quotes, Success, The Power of One, Writer, Writing, YouTube

No Pain. No Gain?

November 5, 2012 by Live & Learn 28 Comments

“…maybe that’s the lesson for me today. to hold on to these simple moments. to appreciate them a little more. there’s not many of them left. i don’t ever want that for you, finding things that make you happy shouldn’t be so hard. i know you’ll face pain, suffering, hard choices, but you can’t let the weight of it choke the joy out of your life. no matter what you have to find the things that love you; run to them. there’s an old saying: that which does not kill you makes you stronger. i don’t believe that. i think the things that try to kill you make you angry and sad. strength comes from the good things: your family, your friends, the satisfaction of hard work. those are the things that keep you whole, those are the things to hold on to when you’re broken.”
~ Jax Teller, Sons of Anarchy

Image Source: Sergioalbiac. Quote Source: gene-how. Post inspired by Another Day in Paradise

Filed Under: Art, Business, Inspire, Lead, Life Tagged With: Art, Family, Friends, gif, hard work, Inspirational, Inspire, kill you, Life, life lesson, Lifestyle, makes you stronger, moments, Psychology, simple moments, strength

You must go at it with monastic obsession…

September 11, 2012 by Live & Learn 29 Comments

John E. Smith @ strategiclearner is a frequent inspiration stop for me. Here’s another one of John’s great shares. Henry Rollins speaks to college students in this clip however I believe his remarks are inspirational to all of us. He shares an important message that needs to be heard, shared and passed along. It’s worth 5 minutes of your time. You’ll find the transcript below.

Transcript of Henry Rollins’ remarks:

Young person, you’ll find in your life that sometimes your great ambitions will be momentarily stymied, thwarted, marginalized by those who were perhaps luckier, come from money, where more doors opened, where college was a given–it was not a student loan; it was something that Dad paid for–to where an ease and confidence in life was almost a birthright, where for you it was a very hard climb.

You cannot let these people make you feel that you have in any way been dwarfed or out-classed. You must really go for your own and realize how short life is. You got what you got, so you have to make the most of it. You really can’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about his. You really have to go for your own. If you have an idea of what you want to do in your future, you must go at it with almost monastic obsession, be it music, the ballet or just a basic degree. You have to go at it single-mindedly and let nothing get in your way. You’re young. That’s why you can survive on no sleep, Top Ramen noodles and dental floss and still look good.

All the people you admire, from Mohamed Ali to any politician, they work and work and work. Your president right now is a man who got where he is through very hard work and scholarships, mainly hard work and application and discipline. If these people can do it, why not you? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Quotes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Big Think, civility, College, Community, confidence, decency, Education, hard work, Henry Rollins, inspiration, Inspire, moral, morality, Philosophy, Psychology, Quotations, Quote, Self-help, student, Success, YouTube

Hard to discern where his talent ends and his work ethic begins…

September 4, 2012 by Live & Learn 22 Comments

Andy Roddick is retiring this season after being “the face of men’s tennis in the U.S. for more than a decade.” What wasn’t obvious to me until reading this article from the NY Times, was the depth of his character, his integrity and his drive. With so many bad actors in professional sports, this story was inspiring. Here’s a few excerpts:

“He’s a study in contradictions: a born entertainer who doesn’t like to leave home; a team player in an individual sport; a deep feeler who is quick to give you a piece of his mind or the shirt off his back; a lunch-pail prodigy.”

“He was precocious, yes, but his defining characteristic has been his persistence. Roddick never had the luxury of coasting, of taking his gifts for granted. How else but through grit and guts does a player with a balky backhand and a butcher’s touch at the net finish in the top 10 in the world for eight consecutive years?”

“Roddick’s serve is such a blur, people have a hard time discerning where his talent ends and his work ethic begins. He’s a classic overachiever who was cast as the suave leading man of American men’s tennis, a role that, true to his nature, he worked earnestly and endlessly to wholly inhabit.” [Read more…]