There was a Japanese proverb that was made much of during the 80s:
"If you work hard, you can do it."
Of course, with the Japanese recession and "lost decade" there is less noise about Japanese work habits and so forth. But I have kept thinking about this, because it is important, and a couple of years ago had a slightly different take on it; You can do it if you will do it, and if it isn't worth working hard at, then maybe it's not worth doing in the first place. At the very least, even if you decide later that your goal is mistaken, if you worked hard at it, you will have taken less time to discover that and move on to something else.
ADDED: Working hard also helps you to keep up your enthusiasm and momentum on a project. You can rest and relax and catch up on all your other stuff between projects.
"If you work hard, you can do it."
Of course, with the Japanese recession and "lost decade" there is less noise about Japanese work habits and so forth. But I have kept thinking about this, because it is important, and a couple of years ago had a slightly different take on it; You can do it if you will do it, and if it isn't worth working hard at, then maybe it's not worth doing in the first place. At the very least, even if you decide later that your goal is mistaken, if you worked hard at it, you will have taken less time to discover that and move on to something else.
ADDED: Working hard also helps you to keep up your enthusiasm and momentum on a project. You can rest and relax and catch up on all your other stuff between projects.