Categories
Project L What I Think

11: Work hard. Fear less.

A constant reminder stuck just below eye level on my desk. I find fear comes from not knowing the right, best, correct, most effective or simply from an unknowing path forward. Those of you who have been following along will already appreciate my stance on taking action; any is better than none.

For me, hard work has almost always involved thinking. I’ve never worked a job digging holes although that is not to say I’ve dug a hole. Many years ago I helped my brother-in-law dig a trench for him to lay an electrical conduit. Conduit is straight. My trench was not. I think then he realised that my talents lay elsewhere and digging trenches was not one of them. Staying awake during meetings has on occasion constituted hard work. Dealing with some particularly difficult clients had been hard work. Trying to get paid by those same clients had been very fucking hard work. Lugging tons of gear from studio to location and back again is hard work. Lifting tons of steel in a gym is hard work. Having patience is hard work. Not punching dickheads in the face is hard work. But I think working hard is incremental. It’s one more set. One more rep. One more headline. One more idea. One more hour thinking of a better solution. One more phone call. One more doing what I don’t want to do because I might fuck it up, get it wrong or take the safe route.

Just as well I don’t look good in hi-vis.