Two brothers work in the office next to me.

They deal in high-quality coffees.

You wouldn’t find two more different people than these two brothers, though they both share a love for music and play several instruments.

One day, they invited me over for a chat, and the conversation drifted to music. I admitted, somewhat embarrassed, that I didn’t play any instruments and had no real knowledge about music. “I just know what I like,” I said, hoping the topic would end there. But it didn’t.

One of the brothers has an academic mindset. He went to university, enjoys deep discussions with his small circle of friends, and approaches most things like an algorithm that can be solved.

The other brother didn’t go to university. He chose a different path, working in restaurants, hotels, and bars. He’s a people person, always in touch with others, and is entirely self-taught.

The academic brother, full of passion, started gesturing in the air, trying to explain the difference between an A minor and an A major. It was clear he was frustrated by my inability to follow.

The other brother, who had been observing, simply turned to his piano, hit a key, and said, “This is an A minor.” Then he pressed another key and added, “And this is an A major.”

“Aha,” I said.

Photo: Simon Noh

Doing hard work is never easy. Stupid thing to say really but there it is.

Doing hard work is never easy. A simple statement, but true nonetheless.

The thing about ease is that, while it sounds appealing, it comes with many downsides.

We like to make things easy for ourselves. Work should be easy. Love should be easy. Food should be easy. Becoming a millionaire should be easy. Saving the planet should be easy.

But they aren’t. Nothing good ever is.

When you don’t put in the effort, you don’t feel the reward—there’s no dopamine rush.

Winning at tennis against a 5-year-old isn’t exactly satisfying. But winning against Bjorn Borg, even at 63, would be something worth bragging about. That would boost your self-confidence.

This applies to things that really matter—things that change the world, life goals you want to achieve. But it doesn’t necessarily apply to the routine tasks of day-to-day life, like stopping at a drive-thru to grab a bite. Fast food companies have made it easy to get in, buy something, and leave in five minutes or less, all for a low cost. If you decide to stay, they’ll entertain you and your kids.

It works.

It’s not just because your kids think it tastes good (though that helps) that these companies are so successful. They make everything easy: a few simple menu items, all easy to understand, all affordable. Once you’re hooked as a child, you’re hooked for life.

Fast food chains thrive because they follow the rules of efficiency: tasty, quick, cheap, and easy. Ikea does this and is successful. Online stores do this and are successful. Automation during the first and second industrial revolutions did this and was wildly successful.

The only way something can be easy and worthwhile is if you make the process efficient.

But here’s the catch: making something efficient is hard work.

On the global stage, there’s no place to hide; most of us are already in the spotlight.

Photo: Nihal Demirci