“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
– Vince Lombardi
Spot on, isn’t it!
Vince Lombardi of course was an American football player, coach, and executive.
During the 1960s, Lombardi was the head-coach of the Green Bay Packers, where he led the team to three straight and five total league championships in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons!
The National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowl trophy – The Vince Lombardi Trophy – is named in his honor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame in 1971.
Lombardi, therefore, is someone who knows a thing or two about work (or hard work) and success – his stats pretty much speak for themselves:
- He never had a losing season as a head coach in the NFL
- His season winning percentage is 73.8% (96-34-6)
- His preseason winning percentage was 78.6% (44-12)
- His overall record of 149 wins, 47 losses, and 6 ties in the NFL.
Like Lombardi, ask any successful person about success, and they’ll tell you the exact same thing: there’s no success without work. In fact success is always a direct consequence of hard-work. There are no shortcuts to achieving success, and the history books provide ample proof of this.
Every man and woman in the world who has achieved success has done so through sheer hard work. Hard work, for me, is one quality that trumps all others.
Hard work is also one of the defining qualities of success entrepreneurs!
Lombardi also said: “Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”