Nothing Works Until You Work Hard

 

Hard work works.

I am totally mystified when I talk to young people about working hard and they reply that it's about working SMART, not working HARD. I fundamentally disagree.

You can work hard strategically but hard work is not negotiable. I have been lucky and blessed but I can also say that I have also worked harder than many of the people I grew up with. I agree that you can work really hard at a bad business model and make no progress but I don't believe it is possible to make any progress without hard work.

In 2002, I worked in Ikeja but stayed in Ajah with my sister. That's 5hrs a day in public transportation to and fro work. I got home at 10pm every night and worked on a book project till 1am before starting the next day at 5am for 6 months. That book bought my first car. 2008, I was studying for a PhD and would work 10 to 12 hours every day.

One professor asked me why I was working so hard. I replied, "I am a black African who speaks with an accent. I have to be twice as good to compete with a White American. That work made me an Assistant Professor before 30.

2010, I started studying for the GRE so that I could leave academia to transition to corporate work via an MBA at Oxford. It meant another 4 - 5 hours of GMAT prep time after work. That hard work got me into Oxford and back into the corporate world.

2014, I was the Managing Director of a major firm in Nigeria. I was 34 and I outworked everybody until we grew the firm 200% (3X) in 3 years. EBITDA in 2016 when I left was 3X EBITDA in 2013 before I joined. 

Hard work works.

2017, I started studying tech in a bid to make the next transition. I was the CEO of a business billing $100million a year and I spent hours after work studying HTML/CSS/Python.

Now I lead a tech business and we are in the process of building Africa's premier tech incubator. This nonsense about smart work is just deceptive. 

You have to work hard strategically. That means thinking smartly about models and trends while putting in the time and effort to move your life forward. You need to be smart but nothing good happens until you work hard.

Dear young people,

Everyone who tells you that you don't have to work hard is lying and trying to destroy your destiny.

Nothing works until someone works hard. Let that hard worker be you. Outwork everyone else in that "shitty" job and watch life itself fight for you. 

Sellah.

Credit : Dr Tayo Oyedeji