Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy one to those who send him.
PROVERBS 10:26 NASB
If you read any self-help flim-flammery, you are sure to run across a bit of tripe known as the "Law of Attraction." Basically, this law states that "like attracts like." If you put positive thoughts out into the universe, the universe will respond with positive results. Likewise, if you put negative thoughts out into the universe, the universe will respond with negative results. Your life is the manifestation of your thoughts. So, if you win the lottery, you deserve the credit for that. And if you get paralyzed in a freak accident on the way to collect your winnings, you deserve that, too. If all of this sounds like so much organic fertilizer, you would be correct. But it makes for some nice posters, coffee mugs, and books that people can sell you.
I do not believe in the Law of Attraction. I've seen some very negative minded people manifest a great deal of prosperity. One of those people is Warren Buffett who is one of the richest men in the world. Buffett said, "When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy.” That is sage advice that flies in the face of the Law of Attraction. Then, there is Napoleon Hill who wrote Think and Grow Rich which is the Law of Attraction in book form. Except for that book, Hill was essentially a con artist who only grew rich from selling that flim flam book.
I do believe in something I call the Law of Work Attraction. There is nothing mystical or fantastical about the Law of Work Attraction. It is not magic but simple logic and common sense. Work attracts work. That's the law in a nutshell. How does it work?
Imagine you are a boss, and you have two workers. Willy Worker is a hard working guy who shows up on time every single day and gives you a solid day of work. Willy is dependable. He gets the job done. Then, there is Lazy Larry who shows up late every day and calls out frequently. Larry doesn't like working, and he does the least amount possible to stay in the job. Now, you have an important task that may require overtime. Who are you going to give the job to? Willy is going to get that job because you don't have to expend much effort to get him to do it. As for Larry, you are going to cut that guy out early and look for some way to fire him. At the very least, he is the guy you will use the least. Larry is irritating.
Work flows to the one who wants it and flows away from the one who doesn't want it. It seems like a mystical force at work here, but it isn't. People give their work to the ones who want it. They don't give their work to the lazy ones who don't want it. Life is just easier and more pleasant when you are surrounded by hard working people. People who want the work become Work Magnets. People who despise the work become Work Repellents.
Will the Law of Work Attraction make me rich? That is a bit of a stretch. I can confidently say that the Law of Work Attraction will keep you out of the poor house. People who work hard don't go begging. But the Law of Work Attraction will not win the lottery for you. What I can say is that you are more likely to keep your lottery winnings if you are committed to a lifestyle of hard work instead of loafing. Loafing will drive you to the poor house even if you win the lottery.
Do lazy people get ahead in life? Yes, they do. Some are just lucky while others are schemers. Some of them even write books like Think and Grow Rich. But these lazy people are the exceptions to the rules. Most lazy people are losers.
Do hard working people fail? Yes, they do. There are many tales of farmers who worked hard, planted a crop, and lost it all due to bad weather and blight. Others are beguiled by flim-flammers and get conned out of their hard earned money. Misfortune is an inevitable part of life, but that misfortune should never be your fault. Likewise, you can only be conned by the temptation of thinking there is an easier way to get ahead in life. The EZ Way to Success is always a deception. The hard way of work is never a deception.
1. Get your mind right.
Manifesting the Law of Work Attraction in your life is a fairly straightforward thing. The first thing you need to do is get your mind right. Make a commitment to the hard work lifestyle. Decide that you may not be the luckiest or the the most talented person, but you will be the hardest working person. Resist the temptation to the EZ Way or thinking that the wide path of laziness will lead to something good. It won't.
2. Put on your hard hat and work boots and get to work.
Mere thinking is no substitute for doing. Once your mind is made right, your posterior should follow by getting out of bed and getting to work. Aim to eliminate idleness from your day. Are you unemployed? Make it your job to find a job. Unless you are severely ill, injured, or handicapped, you can always do something or work at something. I know people who work hard in spite of illness, injury, handicap, or age. Just get up and work.
3. Be prepared to absorb the work that comes to you.
I know a man who runs his own business, and he has an awesome work ethic. The result is that he gets a tremendous flow of business, and he gets a little stressed trying to get it all done. Trust me, folks. This is a good problem to have. Once you become a work magnet, opportunities will come to you. The only thing is that those opportunities come disguised in work clothes. As Thomas Edison put it, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
Real success is when work flows your way as your work attracts more work. People give their work to the one who wants it. This is no deep mystery. If you reflect on your habits, do you choose the supermarket checkout person who is getting it done? Or, do you choose the one who is playing on her smartphone? Likewise, do you take your business to the merchant who gets it done or to the one who is always on vacation? Whether consciously or unconsciously, we give our opportunities to those with the work ethic to get it done.
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED
Naturally, there are going to be objections to the Law of Work Attraction. Some people hear it and recoil. They reject it even though their own minds know it to be true. Here are some objections and answers to those objections.
"I work hard, but I don't get anywhere!"
Everyone thinks they work hard. I've never met a lazy person who would admit to being lazy. The laziest guy in my workplace thinks he is the hardest working, but everyone despises him because of the irritation his laziness creates. Ironically, hard working people are reluctant to admit that they work hard. Like the anorexic who thinks she is fat, hard working people think they are lazy. But they still believe in hard work.
"I see lazy people getting ahead while I get nowhere."
Some lazy people develop a knack for getting paid for their laziness. Life isn't fair. Many people do the wrong thing yet succeed anyway. I get it. I encourage you to become like these lazy schemers and see where that gets you. Take off your work boots and put on your flip flops and become a dirtbag schemer like the ones you despise. If you recoil from this suggestion, you will have discovered a fundamental truth. It is not enough to succeed. You must also feel that you have earned it. This is why hard working people take satisfaction even while earning less while the lucky schemers feel empty.
"But I'll become a workaholic!"
Workaholism is a fantasy disease. It is possible to be worked to death, but this is something that happens in concentration camps under brutal regimes. For the rest of the world, workaholism is not an epidemic despite what some lazy journalists may write. If workaholism was an epidemic, the world would be a much better place than what it is now. As for relationships, I can tell you that the lazy husband will be divorced faster than the workaholic husband. And if a woman divorces a man for working hard, she isn't worth much as a wife. That man is better off without her.
"But I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor!"
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Whatever.
Lazy people only work hard at making excuses. And the person committed to the hard work lifestyle just has to learn to let the grasshoppers of life play while being the hard working ant. And that's really the last part of the Law of Work Attraction. You have to learn to put the blinders on and commit to doing your work while others loaf. If you have enough time to observe and compare and complain, you probably aren't working very hard.
When you put the Law of Work Attraction to work in your life, this is what you can expect. More work will come your way. You will become more satisfied with work which will generate more opportunities disguised as work. You will become a work magnet as the work is attracted to you. You will find happiness and fulfillment as you become accustomed to having this work flow your way. Then, you will be successful in a way that feels earned and deserved. And lazy people will hate you and say that you did some kind of trick. Envy is the respect lazy people pay to those with a work ethic. Get to work.
