"Hard things are hard"

Just before his term as President of the United States ended, President Barack Obama hosted the Chicago Cubs at the White House as the reigning World Series champions (note that Obama was and remains a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan!).  The Cubs first baseman slugger, Anthony Rizzo, noticed a quote on Obama's desk in the Oval Office.  The quote was simple in its eloquence but profound in its meaning - "Hard things are hard."  Rizzo said, "There's no shortcut...We got to push ourselves to limits that we don't think we can get to."  So very true! 

As the saying goes, the best things in life aren't free - you have to work for them.  And the harder a goal is to achieve, the harder you have to work to achieve it.  The American philosopher and psychologist, William James once said, "We forget that every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort." 

I commonly hear that today's youth are too often focused solely on the prize - I also hear that their parents (and perhaps society) are to blame.  No matter what pursuit - sports, math competitions, debate team, music competitions, dance recitals, etc - everyone gets a prize or a trophy, just for showing up.  I don't know if that is true or not, but it does seem at times that individuals want to be rewarded for their hard work before they actually do it.  Individuals want to be handed leadership positions before they have gained the necessary experience.

Hard work pays off.  Dedication and commitment pay off.  As leaders, we need to provide the next generation with opportunities to gain the necessary experience and show what they are made of.  But in the end, no matter what, hard things are hard.  There are no shortcuts.