The more time I spend working from home in my online business, the less convinced I am about the age-old mantra that it’s hard work that makes you successful.

That doesn’t mean that hard work isn’t integral.

It is.

But I actually think there is something even more important that a lot of people don’t really talk about. Every day I get emails from bloggers who work their fingers to the bone but still aren’t seeing results.

So what is going on?

Here’s a few thoughts.

NOTE: This post contains ranting that may be upsetting to some viewers.

 

The problem with the word ‘success’

I wanted to start this post by highlighting something that always bothers me with the word success.

It means different things to different people.

And, perhaps more importantly, it’s good to challenge the idea of what success means if you find that your pursuit of it is making you kind of miserable.

For example, if you have a loving family that you never see because you are trying to make $1m a year by working from home then maybe you need to reevaluate what it is to be successful.

It sounds like you’re screwing it up.

For me, success is more about doing something that I love and ensuring that the work I do and the money I make goes towards helping people and doing something useful and beneficial with my life.

Of course I don’t always hit that target but it’s kind of a guidepost I can refer back to each day.

The problem with hard work

Last week I posted a tweet and got a very interesting response from someone who has a very good track record with successful online businesses (he’s also one of my best friends in the world).