In some ways, being lazy is the key to success. After all, everyone has a tendency towards laziness. And think about which products are the most successful. Correct! Those which make their buyer’s life easier and thus allowing them to be lazier. Incidentally, they are also the ones that changed the world. At Allihoopa.com we have taken a closer look at the topic. Read on to find out how you can use being lazy to your advantage.
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Because Of Laziness Our Lives Are Comfortable
Think about the invention of printing. Before Gutenberg invented the process of printing in the western world, every book had to be copied manually by some monks writing down word for word.
With the printing press, the monks had more time to produce and consume their beer and cheese (always a good thing), and books became widely available and sparked the education and literacy, reformation, science, news and everything that resulted from these.
Laziness is the first step towards efficiency.
Patrick Bennett
Before this inflation of readable material, books were a very precious possession indeed. Lectures in universities were only necessary as there was shortage of books. The very word lecture derives from the Latin word lectus / legere, which means “to read”. The teacher stood in front of the students and read to them. A way of learning, which has not changed in many universities until this very day.
Or let’s take the electric light bulb. Coming into a room and flipping a switch to illuminate the room must have sounded like a paradise-like state at the times when light came from a couple of candles which all had to be manually lightened and extinguished, replaced and taken care for.
Or the dishwasher. Now present in almost every household, because nobody is required to spend hours on cleaning dishes manually. And people are willing to pay for this machine because it allows them to be lazier. The same goes for washing machines. Can you even imagine how much work it must have been to manually wash clothes back in the day?
Laziness Is A Driving Force for Innovation
Laziness is the root cause for the invention and success of bicycles, cars, vacuum cleaners, credit cards, breadmakers, convenience food, mobile phones, computers, heck – even the internet! Or do you remember how much work it was to “quickly” look something up in an actual encyclopaedia or a library?
I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.
Bill Gates
This list can be continued almost indefinitely. All these products and inventions would have had no chance for success, if laziness wouldn’t in fact be an inherent feature in all humans. And even those who advocate for hard work ultimately strive for laziness. The Puritans for instance were totally pro hard-work because they believed that this way they would please God. Their reward for this? Getting an endless time sitting on clouds and playing the harp.
The “Hard Work for Laziness” Tradeoff
Or in other words, working hard during one lifetime as the price for an infinity of laziness. I guess it’s safe to say that heavens would probably be not half as popular if the promise behind it would be an infinity of hard work: “No, you don’t want to go to hell, they have fun down there! Come to heaven for an infinity of the hardest labor you’ve ever encountered!”. Nah, that wouldn’t work.
Or take all the entrepreneurs, who go out of their way to create a business. Chances are that they don’t do seven day grind-work because they love it so much – although they might tell you differently (especially if you work for them). Of course they do it because they want to reap the rewards at some time. Getting rich selling their company to the stock market or another buyer and then spending their days sitting at some beach and being lazy.
Being lazy is perfectly normal
As humans, it looks like when we are confronted with a choice between laziness and work, we tend to choose laziness. Unless the rewards we reap by work are more necessary to us than the urge for laziness. Just imagine you would live in your house for free and could purchase everything you ever wished for. Chances are, that you wouldn’t be seen on Monday mornings at 8:00am rushing to work. So in essence, we are working to buy ourselves free time and a life worth living.
The reason why I am telling you this is, because I want you to understand that laziness is perfectly normal and you are not wrong because you are lazy. You are actually right. However, the problem with our capitalistic system is that you need to have money to survive and hence have to work. And even though so far it might sound like work is a bad thing, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I absolutely know that you love work.
Why You Love Work
If you change your perspective for a second, you will understand that in that sense, you are highly likely to enjoy work a lot and on a daily basis. This usually happens in the situation in which other people work for our benefit. Say the eggs you had for breakfast. Obviously, they didn’t appear in your fridge by laziness. Hopefully you bought organic eggs.
As in that case, there was a farmer who picked them up from happy chickens and put them in the box. A driver brought them to the shop. And a store-keeper sold them to you. Had any of them decided to be lazy or procrastinate, no eggs would have been on sale. And the same goes for everything else which we buy with our money. Honestly, in that sense, work isn’t too bad, is it?
So we all love work when somebody else is doing it. But when we ourselves are supposed to work, it all of a sudden isn’t our first choice anymore. But is this really true? Or is it just a myth?
Why Even Lazy People Are Not Really Lazy
Everybody who has ever had extended times of not having to work, be it a long vacation, or a phase of unemployment, will have realized something. After some time, being lazy becomes boring and unfulfilling.
Laying on the beach is nice for two weeks. But at some point, most of us start to feel uneasy. We want to get back to work. Do something. Create something. Laying on a beach and sipping cocktails is a nice thing, but nothing that would fulfill anybody for an extended period of time – even if it sounds like that. Think about what you do when you’re on vacation. You might de-stress for a couple of days. But many start reading books, listen to podcasts or audiobooks or do some sight seeing to learn about another culture.
We also see it often with people who retire. All of a sudden, there is no structure in their days anymore and after an initial spike of satisfaction they become depressed. And the same thing is true for many lottery winners. They spend their money in the search for happiness but don’t find any satisfaction.
Because complete laziness can never be fulfilling. As humans, there is a need in us to create. And a need to survive. Only if we combine these two needs, can we enjoy happiness and lead a life that feels fulfilling.
So chances are you are not that lazy. Maybe you are only lazy when we talk about repetitive and boring tasks. Or about a job in which you know exactly that your work is not and will never be in true connection to your income. Or maybe you have lost your drive along the way. Something has slowed you down or sucks out your energy. Normally this happens if you don’t tap into your real self – your destiny, your ability, your strengths, your wishes and desires.
Use Being Lazy To Unleash Your True Power
All of that doesn’t mean that a bit of laziness would harm. Especially if you are interested in entrepreneurial success, it’s safe to say that the secret for products that sell like hot cake is to make people’s lives easier. Or in other (and better) words: enable them to be lazier. The same goes for successful services, software, websites and whatnot. Help other people to be more lazy and you will be successful.
So indeed: laziness is the key to success. But only, if you turn the concept around and help other people to be more lazy. And once you’ve done that, people will enable you to be more lazy by buying your solutions and services.