Working hard is just being conscious of what you are doing (most of the time). If you can do the same work without being conscious of doing it, you won't feel i

Working hard is just being conscious of what you are doing (most of the time). If you can do the same work without being conscious of doing it, you won't feel it to be working hard. So learning any new skill, or negotiating new situations can feel like hard work. Imagine how you conscious you had to be of what you were doing when you first learned to drive a car. Making your first startup a success will definitely feel like hard work, as you would have to be learning so many things, and be in situations that you (or many) have not been in before. Once you have succeeded (and looking in the rearview mirror), you will realize that a lot of the hard work was not really required because it is easy to see (or believe) after the fact what actually contributed to the final outcome that is considered as success.