A long time ago I attended a seminar on wealth and money and the speaker had a mantra that said “Work Smarter, Not harder.” It turned out to be a very ordinary, dull seminar but those four words have stuck with me since, so it was worth every penny I paid.

But this concept requires patience. ‘Patience is a virtue’ as the rather trite adage goes. Stuart Wilde introduced the notion of the Professional Waiter in his teachings. This humble practice suggests to us to take a lower place in all things we do. There is no hurry to better someone, or get in early, or have the last say.

Most of the mistakes I have made in my life are because of impatience. It took me years to grasp being a Professional Waiter as I always wanted to be in charge and for things to be done as quickly as possible so I could move on to the next exciting adventure.

I was listening to a fund manager the other day – Steve Johnson from Forager – and his primary advice for stock selection (or money allocation) was to do less and show more patience. I wish this had of been burned into my brain 30 years ago. I have made some good money over the years but a couple of impatient and costly decisions are glaring. But, like all skills, we learn as we go and the mistakes we make point us in a better direction.

Patience is hardest when under stress but it’s a mind game. And if you are settled in your mind, even though all around you is going potty, then you can bathe in the Tao and let your energy take it’s lowest place. It’s perfectly natural really. So you are not really ‘waiting’ for anything at all. You are simply in your moment.

So as far as work goes you will do less but get more out of it. You can move quickly only when the need arises rather than leaning and pushing. The result: you make more money and not lose so much.

PS: But the question does come up. How do we become a professional waiter without people trampling over us? That’s for another article soon.

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