The thought of spending my whole life on a farm inspired me to excel in my studies. When I graduated from college, I remember thinking, ‘I will never go back to that farm again!’ With my newly minted degree I went to Washington to work, and quickly got a dose of the real world. The only way I was able to hold my own in a town filled to the brim with Ivy League graduates with insider connections was by outworking the competition. No matter how hard many of my counterparts worked, I could always work harder, because no desk job could ever compare to the level of effort we had to exert to make that farm work.
Over time, I have come to the conclusion that educational achievement, while an indicator of potential, is not ultimately responsible for success. From my observation, the people who have worked the hardest for the longest time have enjoyed more lasting success than those who rest on their laurels with their degrees and their family connections waiting for someone to hand success to them on a silver platter.
While, as a general rule, work trumps talent, that isn’t to say that talent and learning don’t play a role. In fact, knowledge and intelligence play a role of informing the types and nature of work one performs in the pursuit of excellence. I’ve noticed that those who reach the very pinnacle of success in our society are both educated and hard-working.
On the one hand, becoming proficient at anything requires constant repetition and practice. Whether you’re talking about a golf swing or writing a book, it all starts with going out and trying it repeatedly until you perfect it. However, just working hard won’t get you to where you want to go. You have to first know specifically what you are working towards and how to go about getting there. It does no good to swing a golf club all day, if you don’t have any knowledge about the mechanics of a good golf swing. In fact, if you keep on swinging without seeing any improvement in your game, you’re likely to give up.
That’s where education comes into play. Often we need teachers, coaches and mentors to help us maximize the benefit of the work we’re doing. It helps to have someone teach us the correct form and process for executing the tasks we’ve set forth for ourselves. This type of work, the mental work it takes to prepare for a physical task can also be quite daunting. Thinking rigorously and consistently for any period of time is probably one of the most difficult tasks for anyone. But doing so often saves us a lot of time and effort in the long run. Education, in this sense, can be compared to a roadmap which one consults before setting out on a journey. Without it, we might spend years lost in the wilderness before we finally find our way.
So, to answer the age-old question, if forced to choose, I always err on the side of hard work. Work has a way of teaching you how to make the next step. However, a lot of work can be saved along the way if you know where you’re going, and are equipped with the proper tools to get yourself there.