It's Not About How Smart You Are, But How Hard You Are Willing to Work

Hard Work > Intelligence Maybe it's a hot take that you disagree with but I've made my case in this post here. What do you think? How hard are you willing to work to get ahead in life?

TLDR; Hardwork > Intelligence

Today, I want to talk to you about something that I believe in wholeheartedly and tell people all the time: it's not about how smart you are, but how hard you are willing to work. How hard are you willing to work?

For me, peak effort was definitely 2008. That year marked my peak learning and productivity. I had a full-time job, was in grad school, started a business, and had a side hustle. I also met the woman who would ultimately become my wife—all in one year. Oh, and I had a blog that I posted on three times a week. I basically worked all day and slept. That's all I did—work, eat, and sleep.

I can safely say that 2008 was probably the most important year of my life because it kick-started a lot of the growth I still see and enjoy today. Long-term effort, outworking, and out-hustling others set you up for long-term success.

I guarantee you, I'm not the smartest person out there. But I guarantee you that I'm willing to outwork you. I've put out bursts of work in my life that are just insane. That's what I want to talk to you about today: the importance of hard work and how it will always beat out intelligence.

Skill Development

Being smart doesn't help you develop skills. Being smart doesn't make it any easier to hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball, does it? No. You have to develop that skill through years and years of work and hours of dedication, swinging and missing over and over again. Malcolm Gladwell's famous book "Outliers" discusses the 10,000-hour mark needed to become an expert in any field. I absolutely believe that. You can be smart and understand things intuitively, but unless you've actually put in the work and energy to become an expert, talk is cheap. It's theoretical.

Perseverance, Adaptability, and Resilience

These traits don't come from being smart. In fact, most smart people struggle with failure because everything comes so easy to them. Being able to persevere, adapt, and be resilient are actually hard for them. But these can be competitive advantages for you. Through these traits come self-discipline and work ethic. These alone more than compensate for a lack of intelligence.

People value reliability, dedication, and a willingness to go the extra mile. Long-term sustained effort over time is much more important and valuable than short bursts of brilliance. The culmination of effort will always beat out moments of high intelligence. We all know Aesop's fable—who wins, the tortoise or the hare? Slow and steady wins the race.

A Personal Story

Let me share a story from 12 years ago. I was at HubSpot and fortunate enough to be put into a management position. I was managing a team where half the members went to MIT or Harvard. Here I was, a Southern redneck, answering their questions: "Kyle, how do I do this? How do I do that?" It hit me that the reason I was in that position was because I was outworking them all. I put in the effort, figured things out, and got the promotion through diligence, perseverance, dedication, and work ethic.

They were asking me questions and looking up to me not because I was smarter or better educated, but because I was the expert who put in the time, energy, and effort.

Conclusion

How much effort are we willing to put into things to become successful? Long-term sustained perseverance and resilience to see things through to the end—that's what wins in life.

Do you have any stories or times when you've outworked others and succeeded? I would love to hear them. Please share in the comments.