The First Hundred
Years are the Hardest!
By Ann Michael Henry
That was one of my mother’s favorite expressions. A
working mom who managed the house, coordinated family gatherings,
and was the quintessential matriarch of her extended family;
she seemed to be always working. “The first hundred
years are the hardest” was usually sighed at the end
of a very long day, generally moments after something went
wrong, delaying her ability to sit down, put her feet up,
and read the evening paper – her favorite way to end
the day. Sadly, she lived to only age 83.
As a child, I remember thinking, why does it have to be so
hard? I never understood that. Yes, my parents grew up in
the Depression. Yes, they were both first-generation Americans
born to immigrant parents. Was it the expectation that they
had to work hard? Or, was it that they knew what it was like
not to have enough wood for the wood stove to keep the house
warm or not have meat on the table for days on end? My dad
had to drop out of high school mere weeks before graduation
to join the Civilian Conservation Corps so that he could send
money home to the family.
So when I was growing up, was life that hard? We were a classic
middle-class American family. My parents had jobs, we had
a family car, we were first in the neighborhood to get a television
with remote control (my dad was a gadget person). As new things
came along – dishwashers, blenders, electric can openers
– they were gradually acquired as the budget allowed.
So why did my mother think that life was so hard?
The answer is, I really do not know. What I do know is that
her actions greatly influenced me and what would ultimately
become my life’s work. The reality is, I do not want
to wait 100 years for life to be easier! As I look around
at today’s business environment it reminds me very much
of my mother – work, work, work – the 24/7 mentality.
Always busy and forever fussing that we just can’t seem
to get everything done. That is when I start thinking, “Does
it all have to be done? Can it be done more easily?”
In his book The 80/20 Principle – The Secret to
Success by Achieving More with Less, Richard Koch asserts
that we are absolutely “awash with time.” The
book illustrates how we can achieve much more with much less
effort, less time, and fewer resources, simply by identifying
and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts.
By doing so, we can unlock the enormous potential of that
magic 20% and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our
careers, our businesses, and our lives.
Several years ago, after I had become a mom myself, my parents
would regularly visit. One day while we were sitting at the
kitchen table, my mother looked up at me and said, “You
know, I’ve learned some things from you.” We had
been having a conversation about doing something easier. I
don’t remember exactly what it was we were talking about,
but I remember her acknowledging that there are easier ways
to do things and that that is ok.
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