You can’t work smarter until you do this…

Written By: Brad Pedersen

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at several different events with a number of business leaders. Afterwards, I stuck around to chat with the attendees—many of them early-stage founders or aspiring entrepreneurs.

At almost every one of these events I get asked a common question: “How can I work smarter?” And while I get what they’re asking, what they really want to know is this: What are the shortcuts? What are the life hacks that will help them win faster and get to the outcomes, with less friction?

It’s an honest question—but it’s also one that reveals a common misunderstanding about the way a successful enterprise is actually built.  Here’s a simple truth that I have come to learn: you can’t work smart before you’ve first worked hard. 

The Inconvenient Truth

I get that this might not be the answer they were hoping to hear—but it’s the one I’ve lived. Early on, you simply don’t have the luxury of “working smart,” because the truth is—you don’t yet know what to work smart on.

In the early days, you’re building without capital, connections, and clarity that only time and experience can offer. What you do have is your time—and how you then choose to invest it will define your future trajectory.

It’s only through trying a number of things and learning to work hard, that you earn experience, deepen your knowledge, build meaningful relationships and eventually access capital. 

Over time, you begin to see patterns. You learn what works—and more importantly, you learn what doesn’t. And that’s when you can begin to develop strategies for how you leverage your new found experience to work smart.  

Trying to leapfrog the hard work is like trying to run before you’ve learned to walk.  Smart work may accelerate the journey—but hard work is what makes the journey possible in the first place.

Seasons Change—And So Should Your Strategy

Now, does this mean you’re supposed to grind forever? Absolutely not.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that life moves in seasons—and yes, there’s a time to hustle. Starting a startup demands intense focus and a high level of effort. However hard work is meant to last for a season, and not be a life sentence. 

It’s not sustainable—and it was never meant to be. Building your business should be more like a marathon with occasional sprints required along the way.  The marathon requires a steady pace that can be maintained over time. The sprint is an all-out push—but it is meant only to last for limited moments or you risk burn out.

Despite providing the necessary momentum to get your startup off the ground, the other purpose of your hard work is to provide clarity. Only by doing the work can you gain the insights that in turn help you make smarter and more intentional decisions.  

The Only Real “Hack” That Works

People love to talk about hacks—seeking the shortcuts to success. After three decades of navigating entrepreneurship and leadership, I can say with conviction: the most effective “hack” is to increase my self-awareness.

While books, coaching, and mentors have all played a role; the tool that’s made the biggest impact on my clarity, focus and growth? Regularly scheduled reflection.  We don’t learn from what happens, we only learn and grow by intentionally looking back and asking questions like: 

• What worked? 
• What didn’t? 
• Any insights I have learned?
• Fixes I need to make as a result?

However I recommend going one step further, by conducting a time, energy and values audit. I review the activities from the week looking at where I allocated my time.  I then ask: In my various roles, with the time invested, is it aligned with what I say I value? That question alone is usually pretty confronting. But then I go a level deeper and do an energy audit—categorizing all my meetings, projects and commitments into three buckets: 

1. Gives Me Life 
2. Neutral
3. Drains My Battery

This practice generates incredible clarity in helping grow self awareness to better design your future. While I might not always be 100% clear on what I want, I’m very clear on what I don’t want. 

I can then start designing my weeks ahead focusing on areas where I have under invested and put more time into what energizes me while reducing or eliminating what depletes me.  

You will find not everything can be eliminated — especially in the early grind of building something from scratch. But the goal is to get clear on what you’ll eventually delegate, eliminate, or even modify to turn neutral or draining tasks into energizing ones. 

The key is to start moving to a place where you are living a more intentionally integrated life while investing more of your time and energy into your zone of genius.

No Shortcut To Success

The path to a meaningful, sustainable business career isn’t built on shortcuts—it’s built on hardwork, resilience and growing your self-awareness. The truth is — there are no shortcuts. No hacks. No secret formulas. The real work is showing up, day after day, and staying in the process. 

Growth doesn’t come from avoiding the hard stuff — it comes from moving through it with consistency, perseverance, and adaptability.

But it’s not just about doing the work — it’s about mining the work. It’s in pausing long enough to reflect and to extract the lessons hiding inside every win and loss. To also audit our time allocated, ensuring that you are investing into what you value most while focusing your effort on what gives you life. 

With that clarity comes intention. We start designing — not just a business, but a life. One that feels aligned, energizing, and purpose-built. 

So What Next?

Working hard is how you lay the foundation while working smart is how you multiply your impact. Both are required however one must proceed the other. 

You may ask beyond working hard and smart, What is the real purpose of our work?

At Full Spectrum, we believe true wealth isn’t just financial—it’s holistic. It’s about intentionally designing a life rich in meaning, impact, and connections. 

Yes, money and a fulfilling career matter—they’re vital ingredients to creating a good life. However when they become the only thing, everything else begins to suffer.  Money isn’t nothing. It just can’t be everything.

If you have achieved some financial success in your life and you’re curious about what it means to live an integrated life pursuing: More Meaning. Greater Impact and Deeper Connections.—Then I invite you to explore what we’re building at: 👉 www.fullspectrumlife.com

It might just provide the clarity you’ve been looking for.

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