Hard work pays off?

[Hagi]

well, kissing ass and knowing people brought me in the position where people will come to me instead of someone else if they want some special ring with this particular gem x made for their wedding.
and of course you have to have a certain skillset and training to do it. but it really isn't all that hard. essentially what i'm trying to say is that the profits are disproportionally high for what i do.
i still maintain the standpoint that hard work certainly doesn't hurt, but it unfortunately isn't as important as it should be. that's just wishfull thinking of all the hard working people. god knows it should be like that though.

i by the way understand and respect your standpoint, i don't want to argue and i don't want to sound impolite or snappy. i'm sorry if i was obnoxious or something, i just was a little short on time and thus wrote only in this pretty short form. i really don't mean anything bad or disrespectful by it.

Heh, don't worry about offending me. As far as I'm concerned these are just random posts by random people in random threads, that's a bit too much random for me to be offended by.

Anyway, to explain my point of view.

Your first post gave the impression of being written by, to put it rudely, a corporate ass-kisser. One of those people who earn their money by leading technical departments without having any technical understanding themselves purely by sucking up to their own bosses.

The department trudges along despite the manager all the while that same manager is taking credit for what those below him still manage to achieve. And unfortunately, especially in larger corporations, these people really do exist.

Such a guy is earning money purely by 'kissing ass' and knowing the right people. And while I'd be hesitant to call them morally bad (and thus call them morally ambiguous) it certainly isn't something I respect.

Your vocation, from what I know of it, seems perfectly respectable. While certainly not as awe-inspiring as a researcher working to cure cancer I definitely wouldn't consider it purely getting along by knowing the right people and 'kissing ass'.

As far as I'm concerned there's too much work involved in the creation of quality jewellery for it to count as 'kissing ass'. But if you want to chalk it up to that factor then by all means, go ahead. You're probably falling quite a ways short of those who really do it for a living though.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

What you're doing is convincing yourself of your own ideas, making them true...for you.
The The part I've highlighted is where most problems lie - you just don't believe in your own success.

These spoiled rich kids? Someone somewhere along the way had to work for that money. It didn't just appear out of nowhere. That person managed to get so much that the next generations could live good lives without doing anything.
Also, as I've said 2 times in my post, aimless work is pointless. Once you know what you want and how to get it, then it's time to work hard in that direction. I'm doing that and guess what... I'm getting positive results. Sitting on my ass and trying to convince myself that it's impossible to succeed without having a head start does nothing for me (plus it's not true). I rather do something about my own situation than cry about how unfair it is.

If I would, from tomorrow, stop doing all the things I do in my spare time and concentrated on making money AND ONLY making money for 10 years straight, put all my effort into making as much as I possibly can, neglecting other aspects of my life, I could become rich (even if you think that I couldn't). I'm not going to do that. Why? Because I like the things that I do in my spare time. Plus, these things will also contribute to my future success. For over a decade, I used to fool around doing all sorts of different activities just for fun. I worked hard at them because I loved doing them and wanted to be better at them. Within that decade, I've become quite an expert at some of them. So much so that many new paths have appeared before me. Paths that I wouldn't even consider and that would be impossible for me to follow if I hadn't put all that effort into polishing my skills. Now, all I have to do is to think of to where I want to be in the future and follow 1 of the available paths to get there. Once I'm there, other paths will appear and I'll have the opportunity to choose again... and so on, and so forth.
You also need to remember that you will fail on the way and that you'll just have to learn from your mistakes and keep on trying. Once you've decided that it's impossible, then it becomes impossible.

I hope that explains a few things.

Right first of all im not crying about how unfair it is. Im still applying for uni. I still have made connections with the syngenta biochemistry lab. Im trying. I really am. So dont say that recognising a situation is unfair amounts to me saying its impossible to win in that situation. It is possible to win and im trying to do so, i just recognise its HARDER FOR ME THAN IT WOULD BE FOR OTHERS WHO HAVE BENEFITS OF ALREADY BEING RICH. Also getting rich/successfull from someone elses hard work doesnt count as your own hard work. At all.

Stop patronising me by saying i dont believe anyone can become rich. They can. Of course they can. Sweeping generalisations are always wrong. Of course YOU can become rich. But is it a fair contenst with those who are already rich? Can anyone become rich? No. Not anyone can become rich. Because capitolism works on the basis of money transfer, and for someone to be rich, someone has to be poor. You said it yourself that money comes from somewhere. If the world consisted of me and you and we both had 100 dollers, for you to get richer id have to get poorer. Someone in the system is getting poorer even as you or i succeed. So no. The system doesnt work for everyone. If everyone worked equally hard everywhere all the time they would not have equall pay.

TLDR: Everyone can get rich in theory, of course i can succeed, you can succeed its all very possible. Is it easier for those with a headstart? Yes. DO they work less hard for more success? Yes. The system might be unfair to an extent but it doesnt mean i cant succeed or try. The only point i was making is that hardwork is NOT directly proportional to success. Some people work so damn hard and get nothing, even if its "pointless hard work". You cant tell me everyone whos poor ever has only been doing "pointless hard work", what if they had no other option?

 

[EeveeElectro]

Can't remember where I heard it but ~ "Being a man is like being an ugly woman. You have to work for your money."
My friend told me her gorgeous daughter went on TV for 3 minutes to advertise some make-up and ended up earning more than what I do in a month.
So yeah, work hard. Or be born beautiful, everything is handed to you.

 

[Frezz]

Some people are lucky, but that doesn't make hard work irrelevant. I just started school for a degree in animation, and all of the seniors I know of who are graduating with jobs in the field, didn't get there because daddy owns the company, they got there by spending hours in the studio perfecting their work, and hours outside going to career fairs, taking shitty internships, and giving their business card to anyone who would get close enough for a handshake. I don't care how much people talk about preexisting talent and connections. You can make yourself skilled. You can get to know people.

On the topic the OP was actually intending to talk about: I'd have to say drawing. I've always thought it was kind of weird that when I get out my sketchbook people think I'm some kind of magician. I'm not, I've just filled dozens of sketchbooks before the one you can see, and the early ones looked as bad as what any "non artist" thinks they're stuck with as their skill-level. If I ever start thinking that hard work gets me nowhere, I just take a look at one of those old sketchbooks and remember how far I've come.

Also, If there's something you want to learn, don't wait for college or a class. This is the information age. You have the internet. Start looking. Everything you can learn now will help you later, even if not in immediate or directly quantifiable ways.

 

[dystopiaINC]

hark work has certainly started to pay off for me, where i work has been having a bad time with sales, so the newest employees (me) had their hours cut severely, before i was working long shift 4 times a week, but got cut to short shifts twice a week. it was getting crap hours and crap pay. which is bad when i'm a college student who desperately needs a car.

this week was no different, however we had a huge snow storm that knocked out almost 87% of the city'es power. we still have people with out power 8 days later, so naturally they can't cook and have been coming in to get food. (KFC) so even though i missed a day of work because we had no power, i ended up getting called in twice to help out because of the rush. and next week i'm scheduled for three days. as of yesterday i had the same amount of hour worked this week that i had last pay check, so i'm gong to have about double the hours since last pay check.

the reason? my boss and several employees had noticed that i've been busting my ass on all my shifts, and that's why they called me in twice this week, and gave me 3 days next week. very nice.

 

[ace_of_something]

I work pretty damn hard. I have more than my father ever did now and I'm only in my early 30's. If you asked me though he worked HARD a lot harder than I he was a rancher and welder. He only retired last year at the age of 66. Though my dad also had 3 kids by the time he was my age. So there's that too.

My experience working lot of different jobs. Most managers/leaders would rather have a hardworking subordinate person than a super intelligent 'i do my own thing' type.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Hard work definitely pays off. I coasted through school and college and did pretty well, but that shit just doesn't fly in the working world. I started working with Amazon about six weeks back now and it's mostly general labour: picking, packing etc. I'm at a point now where I've gotten my productivity high early on and I'm looking at becoming a lead (minor managment position).

Certainly paid off for me when I pulled my finger out. Though this entirely depends on your job/school.

 

[Rin Little]

For me it was painting. I knew I could draw pretty well, but I wanted to try a hand at it and I've gotten much better each time I do it. Trust me, I look at my first few paintings and cringe... a lot.