Working hard is not being productive

I'm quite hard-working person, and I know what I’m talking about. Those diligent people are quite successful in life but most of them fail because of one thing -> just being disciplined and work hard won't lead to success if you not working on the right thing.

Work smart -> it's now really popular collocation but no one actually explains what it really means. It's the thing when you work on something specific during some time, check the progress, result, REFLECTING and then deciding if u should pursue further.

It's really important to remember into what you spending your energy. Let's imagine you are at corporate job, working as hard as possible, and getting slight pay raise. But if u just work at the same level as others, and at the same time focus on side hustle or investing, it would def lead to better results and new skills cuz most people not doing anything beyond their job -> you have higher probability to succeed.

Or just take example from 50-100 years ago, people worked hard af during industrial time, but only some just achieved something. Success is not about only working time, as I said it's about reflection. But what is reflection actually?

When you look at your progress and deciding to change something, yeah this "change" is highly critical. This change is the same as taking the risk. So, if you not doing this, you will probably get the same result as previously, cuz without change -> same inputs -> same outputs.

As a teen, Ive been doing a lot of crypto hustle, although I got some good results, I could spend this time more effectively which could lead me to another better point of my life. Based on this reflection, I'm changing this, better late than never.

That reflection process changed everything for me. I started writing down what I actually did each day, not what I planned. Then at the end of each week I'd look at it and ask myself: was I working on the right thing or just staying busy?

Ofc, changes are hard af but what u prefer: quick discomfort or being in the same position u been several years ago?