Chapter 16: How to Build Work Ethic?

Lünersee, Austria - Daniel Waldner

How can I build a strong work ethic?

I don’t know but it seems like there could be a couple paths to get there:

A: Poor circumstances + grit

B: Competitive environment + insecurity

A: Cool, calm and collected

B: Macho, chip on the shoulder, something to prove

A: Humble

B: Prideful

A: Quiet

B: Babbling

A: Wise

B: Rash

A: Strong

B: Muscular

A: Wealthy

B: Rich

A: Toyota

B: Maserati

Which one are you?

I want to be A, but if I’m honest, I often have a B mindset.

So the real question becomes, how do I build grit?

What even is grit?

Not an answer but a tangentially related story:

My Opa is a humble, hard working man. As a German living in Poland after the war, he had to flee to Canada with nothing. He was only 18 at the time. He worked incredibly hard to establish his family in this country and start a family of his own. 75 years later, because of his hard work, and the tremendous opportunity of living in this great country, he has set up the next 2 generations of Hoehnes for success (and counting…)

The heritage of work ethic in my family from my father to my grandfathers is freaking inspiring. Obviously success involves a lot of luck, but work ethic seems to be a pattern of success, at least in my family. I hope to set the same example to my kids and grandkids but first I need to figure out this grit thing.

In each chapter I give one concrete step that I’ve taken so you can follow along.

Concrete Step #16: Start building grit

I still don’t really know what I mean when I say grit, but if I had to guess, I would define it as:

Perseverance through pain, for the sake of something beyond oneself.

I think it’s so easy to fall into the B mindset because I don’t have a lot of pain in my life. One possible approach is to introduce a sprinkling of mortification into my daily routine. For example, this past week I’ve been taking cold showers. It’s nothing heroic but in some small way, it might prepare me for harder times ahead.

DISCLAIMER:

I've never done this before and I'm learning as I go. Be cautious because I will make mistakes, but also be inspired because if I can start a business, so can you.