MM#32--Do the Work
In this MOJO Minute, we recap a Pittsburgh Steeler's Pro Football Hall of Fame speech and offer a unique observation about our culture, ultimately concluding with Steven Pressfield's wisdom in Do The Work (affiliate link)
Correction: In the podcast, I said six Pittsburgh Steelers were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Just five Steelers went into the Hall this past weekend. Troy Polamlau, Bill Cowher, Donnie Shell in the 2020 class and the 2021 class included Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn.
Key points:
- Steeler great Troy Polamlau excerpt from his HOF speech
- Why is our culture shunning the virtue of hard work
- Pressfield's incredible wisdom of a universe actively hostile to our success
Other resources:
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Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MOJOAcademy )Hello I’m David and welcome back to another MOJO Minute
Over this past weekend, the Pro Football Hall of Fame celebrated its induction ceremonies of their newest classes. The classes of 2020 and 2021.
As a devout Pittsburgh Steeler fan it was great weekend to witness because we had six Steelers enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Let me just say I enjoyed every minute of it.
I love the blue collar work ethic of the city of Pittsburgh and how the football team has embraced that city and took on that same mental approach and mindset
And because I’m a HUGE Troy Polamalu fan, here’s just a brief excerpt from his speech
“I love football,” Polamalu said. “It was my entire life for as long as I can remember. I fostered an obsession with the game early on that I modeled after the regimens of some of the greatest artists of the past — Dickens, Beethoven — these great men were known to have a beast-like work ethic coupled with an unwavering ability to create until perfection, beyond what most believe the human body will allow. To me, that’s what it takes to go from ordinary to extraordinary.”
That is one of the best NFL safeties to ever play the game.
And Troy certainly did have a beast-like work ethic
Recently though, have you noticed, the virtue of hard work is getting a bad name?
Thats seems weird, hard work has been a virtue since human beings were on the planet.
We all remember the great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden saying “I challenge you, to show me one single solitary individual who achieved his or her own personal greatness without lots of hard work.”
There is no substitute in life for hard work.
Weird how now in our culture, hard work is almost shunned, huh?
Now the interesting thing that happened over the weekend was as I listened to speech after speech from the inductees, no matter if they were Pittsburgh Steelers or not, every speech from every inductee mentioned similar traits.
I came hearing these same traits and attributes come up time and time again.
Those attributes were hard work, dedication, sacrifice.
Over and over with each speech these qualities were talked about.
Almost every inductee thanked those previous coaches and teachers that pushed them to acquire these virtues
Almost every inductee thanked their families for the many sacrifices they endured along the journey to help them reach this vaunted goal.
I say all of this to lead up to our nugget of wisdom today.
Hard work actually works
No it really does
Hard work actually does work
Steven Pressfield in his super packed insightful little book titled, Do The Work
--that was written in Pressfield’s in your face style
Implores us to understand this concept.
And not to be misguided or confused on the subject.
Explains this to us:
In his book he called all the other obstacles that life throws in our path = resistance
And the way to overcome this resistance is with one trait….hard work!
“When you and I set out to create anything--art, commerce, science, love--or to advance in the direction of a higher, nobler version of ourselves, we uncork from the universe, ineluctably, an equal and opposite reaction.
That reaction is Resistance. Resistance is an active, intelligent protean, malign force--tireless, relentless and inextinguishable-- whole sole object is stop us from becoming our best selves and from achieving our higher goals.
The universe is not indifferent.
It is actively hostile.”
Wow!
How about getting to the heart of the matter and striking close to the truth!
Whether we set off to become a great football player or we set off to become the next Charles Dickens or Beethoven
The universe uncorks Resistance against us.
As Pressfield puts it
“The universe is not indifferent.
It is actively hostile.”
Hard work helps to overcome that Resistance. It is the fight we have to engage in.
So in todays MOJO Minute, let us not believe that is hard work is for someone else. That hard work is not a virtue. Let us seek out our dreams knowing at our core, at our core
just like those Pro Football Hall of Famers this past weekend,
that hard work ultimately pays off in the end.
As Proverbs 12:11 tells us
“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Here’s to seeing you on the road of hard work
where you and I will be high-fiving and getting after it together!
Lets do this!
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