Work Hard, Get better.. Don’t overcomplicate it

An insight to Effort

What began as a simple saying on a tee-ball field became the guiding principle of my life, my business, and my philosophy: work hard, get better.

At face value, it sounds obvious. Effort in, results out. For most of human history, that equation was never questioned. Progress required work, and improvement demanded struggle. Yet today, despite having more tools, more information, and more convenience than ever before, we find ourselves resistant to effort.

If work truly leads to results, why do we live in a world that minimizes effort, thinking, and prioritizes instant outcomes?

The answer is uncomfortable: resilience and sustained effort are in decline. In a culture built on immediacy, patience is treated as unnecessary. Discipline is seen as too challenging. Perseverance is replaced by shortcuts. With the rise of artificial intelligence, information is always within reach, and entire professions now sit on the edge of extinction. Convenience has accelerated—but character has not.

And that gap matters.

When effort disappears, growth stalls. When struggle is avoided, resilience erodes. The very process that builds competence, confidence, and self-trust is quietly fading.

What’s often overlooked is that this process is not just philosophical, but it’s biological.

There is a region of the brain known as the anterior mid cingulate cortex (aMCC). It plays a central role in decision-making, willpower, motivation, and emotional regulation. This region becomes more active when we choose to do difficult things—especially the things we’d rather avoid. My father had a saying growing up “The things you don’t want to do, you should probably do them. “ If you’ve ever felt unmotivated, directionless, or disconnected from your best self, its not you, it’s your aMCC not firing properly.

The aMCC strengthens through effort. Through resistance. Through choosing discomfort over convenience.

It governs your willingness to engage with difficulty—to try, to fail, and to try again. And failure, when approached correctly, is not a setback. It’s proof of participation. As Mr. Universe Mike Mentzer once said, “You have achieved failure, thank God. Now the only place to go from failure is to win.”

Even small acts of discipline—completing a task you’ve been putting off, following through when motivation fades, finishing what you started, activate this system. Confidence isn’t achieved by shouting affirmations in the mirror, its about having undeniable evidence of saying who you are. Each time you push through resistance, your brain reinforces tenacity: persistence in the face of challenge.

This philosophy may sound familiar, like something you’d hear from a coach before a big game. And that’s because it works.

In sports, consistent effort in practice builds skill, endurance, and trust within a team. No single drill changes an athlete. No single workout defines performance. Progress is earned through repetition, structure, and commitment. The same principle applies beyond the field.

In life, showing up daily does more than improve outcomes. It shapes character. It builds reliability. It creates momentum.

So what does “Work Hard, Get Better” actually mean?

Work hard means committing to action regardless of mood or circumstance. It means understanding that belief without effort is hollow. The world doesn’t reward intention—it responds to execution. Progress belongs to those who are willing to do the work when no one is watching.

Get better is not about dramatic transformation or instant success. It’s about deliberate improvement. Incremental progress. Becoming marginally more capable, more disciplined, and more resilient than you were yesterday. Growth compounds when improvement becomes habitual.

This process doesn’t demand perfection. It demands consistency.

And once momentum is established, it sustains itself. As the principle of motion reminds us: an object in motion tends to stay in motion. The hardest part is starting. The most important part is continuing.

The work is unavoidable. The question is whether you will engage with it intentionally—or allow convenience to decide for you.

Start small. Do something difficult today. Then do it again tomorrow.

Work hard.
Get better.