Hard work Won’t Make You Rich: 5 Reasons

It is commonly believed that hard work is the key to achieving financial success. However, the truth is that hard work alone may not be enough to make you rich. 

While hard work is certainly important, it requires other factors to build wealth over time. In this article, we will explore five reasons why hard work may not necessarily lead to financial success. Let’s get started:

Hard work rests on manual effort

Most Nigerian parents train their children to be hardworking because to them physical strength is something every child must have. And most times parents often see children who are not hardworking as weak entities. Sam Ewing said, “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” 

Hard work won’t make you rich if it is solely on manual efforts. This is because the world has seen a couple of technological advancements as Artificial Intelligence(AI) take centre stage. The advent of AI tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, etc has moved us from the era of using so much physical strength to earn a living. So rather than hard work, smart work is how to get rich in the world we live in.

Hard work usually places time over value

A large number of Nigerian youths are guilty of trading their time for money. This is one reason why most of them are not very rich yet. The difference between the poor and rich is that while the poor sell their time, the rich sell value. Selling value like Elon Musk (Tesla), Bill Gates, (Microsoft) or Steve Jobs (Apple) is a very potent strategy for making money. This is because you can make more money from dispensing value. 

Exploring digital skills like blockchain and web development, Seo writing, copywriting, and creating UI/UX designs can help you sell value and make money. The wider your value, the more fortune you get.

The world currently values brains over brawns

Hard work most times prevent you from putting your brain to work. When this happens, you discover that you are trading your time for money, which most times leaves you with no time to think. Most Nigerians work round the clock, juggling two to three jobs together to make ends meet. As they spend their time working, they have less time to think. Since they have less time to think, they won’t have time to reflect on self-development, generate creative ideas and birth ideologies that will transform their lives. 

Founder of Ford Motors, Henry Ford once said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is and that’s why only a few people do it”. This simply means that you should put your brains to work. Read books, take courses and prioritise habits that can make you rich.

Hard work could limit your financial IQ

Your financial IQ to a large extent determines how rich you will be. This is because it will help you make informed decisions on savings, investments and spending. Doing a job which requires close to 90 per cent of your time will prevent you from reading about money. And even if Nigerians get some free time, they will be too tired to read a financial book or understand the foreign exchange market. A 9-5 job may be giving you thousands of dollars, but if you keep practising unhealthy financial habits, you will remain poor. You must begin to read or listen to audiobooks about money for 30 minutes daily. This will broaden your financial intelligence and help you become rich.

You need more hands to build wealth

Hard work is great but sitting in front of your desk and working with your two hands won’t generate the kind of wealth you desire. If as an entrepreneur you have a beautiful idea of supplying food to 20 organisations. You will be working hard by choosing to shop for groceries, and preparing the meals yourself. However, that will wear you out and not help you generate the wealth you desire. But if you choose to leverage the strength of other employees. You will be able to work smoothly and generate more income without spending too much time. As you work hard learn to think smart and leverage the skills and techniques of others to generate significant wealth.