Comments on: Hard Work http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/ A website devoted to philosophy, spirituality, humor, and everything in between Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:34:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1 By: Hard Work « Comedy and Humor Blog http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-535 Hard Work « Comedy and Humor Blog Mon, 05 Feb 2007 04:08:22 +0000 http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-535 [...] Here is yet another link to my new website and my new post, entitled Hard Work, available at [...] […] Here is yet another link to my new website and my new post, entitled Hard Work, available at […]

]]> By: Hannah http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-536 Hannah Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:54:50 +0000 http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-536 Excellent article. I agree that once you get past the label of "Hard", it is so rewarding that it becomes an enjoyable challenge. It's easier to sit and watch TV and complain that I'm not getting anywhere. However, if I dive into the so-called Hard Work, life becomes more interesting and exciting. Turns out, it's no harder than avoiding hard work, and a lot more fun. Excellent article. I agree that once you get past the label of “Hard”, it is so rewarding that it becomes an enjoyable challenge. It’s easier to sit and watch TV and complain that I’m not getting anywhere. However, if I dive into the so-called Hard Work, life becomes more interesting and exciting. Turns out, it’s no harder than avoiding hard work, and a lot more fun.

]]> By: Hannah http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-537 Hannah Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:45:40 +0000 http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-537 A few more thoughts: I mentioned TV, and I think this could be a reason people are afraid of hard work: TV makes us passive, and then tries to sell us the gadgets to make things "Easy". "Hard" is the enemy. We have become spoiled, in this era of labor-saving applinces and push-button convenience. My favorite example of an ad: (selling pre-cooked slices of crisp bacon) "Don't you just love it when everything is done for you?!" A few more thoughts: I mentioned TV, and I think this could be a reason people are afraid of hard work: TV makes us passive, and then tries to sell us the gadgets to make things “Easy”. “Hard” is the enemy. We have become spoiled, in this era of labor-saving applinces and push-button convenience. My favorite example of an ad: (selling pre-cooked slices of crisp bacon) “Don’t you just love it when everything is done for you?!”

]]> By: Liara Covert http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-538 Liara Covert Thu, 08 Feb 2007 04:29:42 +0000 http://andrewbrunelle.com/2007/02/05/hard-work/#comment-538 A while back, you wrote in your blog how working in a grocery store made you feel you were getting nowhere. You said you weren't motivated or driven and expressed an interest in finding new sources of inspiration. This in mind, I read a story about a martial arts expert that may interest you. It's from a section called "Taking Charge" in Stephen Covey's recent compilation for Reader's Digest entitled, "Everyday Greatness." Create Your Own Breaks--Chuck Norris I was sixteen and found a job packing groceries at a Boys Market in Gardena, a Los Angeles suburb. It was the 1950s, and in those days grocery stores used boxes for their heavier items. I thought everything was fine, until the end of the first day, when the manager told me not to return. I wasn't packing fast enough. I was a painfully shy kid, and I surprised even myself when I blurted out, "Let me come back tomorrow and try one more time. I know I'll do better!" Speaking up went against my nature, but it worked. I got a second chance, moved a lot faster, and for the next year and a half boxed groceries from four to ten on weekdays for $1.25 an hour and sometimes all day Saturday and Sunday. The moment I spoke up is burned in my memory, and so is the lesson: If you want to accomplish anything in life, you can't just sit back and hope it will happen. You've got to make it happen. I was not a natural athlete when I began studying karate, but I trained harder than anyone else and was a world middleweight karate champion for six years. Later, when I decided to become an actor, I was thirty-six and had no experience. There were maybe sixteen thousand unemployed actors in Hollywood, and I'd be competing against guys who had already been in movies or on T.V. If I had said, "I don't stand a chance," one thing is clear. I wouldn't have. People whine, "I haven't succeeded because I haven't had the breaks." You create your own breaks. ------------------------------------------------------------------ This story reminds me that as we work hard, we take responsibility for the direction our life is headed. We also benefit from learning to speak up to others based on our true feelings and learning to listen to ourselves. A while back, you wrote in your blog how working in a grocery store made you feel you were getting nowhere. You said you weren’t motivated or driven and expressed an interest in finding new sources of inspiration. This in mind, I read a story about a martial arts expert that may interest you. It’s from a section called “Taking Charge” in Stephen Covey’s recent compilation for Reader’s Digest entitled, “Everyday Greatness.”

Create Your Own Breaks–Chuck Norris

I was sixteen and found a job packing groceries at a Boys Market in Gardena, a Los Angeles suburb. It was the 1950s, and in those days grocery stores used boxes for their heavier items.

I thought everything was fine, until the end of the first day, when the manager told me not to return. I wasn’t packing fast enough.

I was a painfully shy kid, and I surprised even myself when I blurted out, “Let me come back tomorrow and try one more time. I know I’ll do better!” Speaking up went against my nature, but it worked. I got a second chance, moved a lot faster, and for the next year and a half boxed groceries from four to ten on weekdays for $1.25 an hour and sometimes all day Saturday and Sunday.

The moment I spoke up is burned in my memory, and so is the lesson: If you want to accomplish anything in life, you can’t just sit back and hope it will happen. You’ve got to make it happen.

I was not a natural athlete when I began studying karate, but I trained harder than anyone else and was a world middleweight karate champion for six years. Later, when I decided to become an actor, I was thirty-six and had no experience. There were maybe sixteen thousand unemployed actors in Hollywood, and I’d be competing against guys who had already been in movies or on T.V. If I had said, “I don’t stand a chance,” one thing is clear. I wouldn’t have.

People whine, “I haven’t succeeded because I haven’t had the breaks.” You create your own breaks.
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This story reminds me that as we work hard, we take responsibility for the direction our life is headed. We also benefit from learning to speak up to others based on our true feelings and learning to listen to ourselves.

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