Whatever does "work smarter, not harder" mean? Without task-specific coaching, teaching, training, how does someone instantly get smarter?
Try to get smarter. But don't wait until you get smarter. You can get smarter by doing something today.
You can't control the other guy. You can't control how many calls, how much practice, how much self-learning the other guy will do. But you can control yourself. You can control your work ethic, your attitude, your professionalism, your schedule. Therefore, never, never let the other guy outwork you.