I agree. This can be a difficult thing to learn, though, because most organizations obscure this relationship. And because effort is hard by definition, there

I agree. This can be a difficult thing to learn, though, because most organizations obscure this relationship. And because effort is hard by definition, there's a massive mythology of low-effort success; fantasizing that reward is random allows even the slothful to identify with the successful. Since quitting my job a few months ago, I've been learning this lesson as a consultant. It turns out that to squeeze a mere 30 billable hours out of a week, I have to work about twice as hard as I ever had in a full-time job. And I was the most productive hacker in the company. Now I'm working much harder on projects that aren't always as cool, but it's worth it because it directly affects my livelihood and the customer's desire to continue working with me and recommend me to others.