Have you ever had someone say ’thank-you’ after you’ve done a task and seem genuinely stunned or amazed by what you’ve done? In their eyes, you’ve done the impossible. So pulling if off appears almost miraculous. It wasn’t of course. You just took on the necessary – and often boring – job of doing the work.

And when it comes to work, an awful lot of it is pure grind. Grind that typically goes unseen.

We can all get tempted to go looking for shortcuts. And sometimes there are shortcuts – or automations – that can save us time and do some heavy lifting for us. But most work that matters will require, well, work! 

Doing the impossible is, more often than not, little more than getting your head down and getting on with something. 

It’s hard. It’s tedious. It’s relentless.

And then it’s done. 

And everyone says, ‘wow’. 

They’ll rarely appreciate everything that was involved. But you know. You were prepared to grind.

That willingness to do the grind is what always makes the difference. When amazing things happen at work, it’s because someone is doing hard, usually unseen, work. 

Lessons from this? Be the person who’s prepared to do the work. Be the person who takes the time to notice and appreciate when those around you are doing the work. 

–Sam

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@samradford | samradford.com