Respectfully, Screw Your Aimless Hustle đ
3 questions for approaching the hustle, healthily.
Weâre living in a fun time with entrepreneurship. Stock markets have been soaring for 8+ years, Shark Tank acquires new eye-balls every week, and people are launching into visions they never knew possible.
At the same time, so many seem to âHustleâ because they think theyâre supposed to. Because thatâs whatâs everyone else does, right??
Here are 3 questions Iâd challenge you to ask yourself to know if youâre hustling from a healthy perspectiveâŚand today, Iâm feeling a little feisty, so buckle up :)
01âDo you have an end-goal?
So many kids get into college and have no idea what theyâre doing. Itâs actually designed to be that way, however, and a plethora of majors are there for the picking. Itâs part of growing up, getting into the flow of who youâd like to become professionally (not in all cases), and start earning an income to support yourself.
While we all go through various phases in our lives, there are however, checkpoints and road-signs.
Effective hustle steers towards an objective at hand; the end goal. If youâre hustling because you feel thatâs what youâre supposed to do (because youâre best friend does it), maybe you should examine your life a bit closer.
Entrepreneurship is hard. Really hard!
But some people in this game tend to make it just thatâŚan endless game. Theyâd rather force the idea down your throat that if youâre not working 18 hours a day, youâre not a true entrepreneur. Youâre hustle is not on point. If youâre not pushing as hard as Gary V, you donât want it bad enough.
To those touting such idiocrocies, I say screw your aimless hustle.
There comes a point where you need to give an idea everything youâve got!
Sure, you need to work your ass off, as nothing worth having is ever going to pose anything other than a challenge, but thatâs good!
You need to push it until you canât push any longer, but all in the light of arriving at a specific place; the end-goal. The fruit of your hustle.
The endless lifestyle of the 18 hour-a-day entrepreneur is trite. Nobody who truly lives this way has a family lifeâŚeven if they do.
Their wife is probably lonely.
They havenât called their mother in 9 months.
Their kids wonder why Daddy is âworkingâ at all times of the day (Twitter feed consumption, looking for the next lead that wonât happen). To those of you carrying out this lifestyle rather than hustling for a season, please grow some perspective and realize that family, relationships, faith, character, and how you impact lives on this earth is core to being humanâŚnot your hustle towards monetary gain.
That stuff is here today, and gone tomorrow. Your family, less so.
02 â Are you glorifying the hustle?
Is touting the idea that you work 18 hours a day impressive? I think it sounds like a terrible waste of time, and a lack of focus.
First off, nobody is going to do good work, staring at a screen for 18 hours a day (yes, Iâm picking 18 hours a day as a number, but really Iâm trying to make the point of over-working yourself for the sake of doing so).
Theyâll probably end up completely redoing most of what they did after 10 hours. Our brains simply werenât made to focus that long.
But is working longer, the path to working smarter?
Not necessarily.
So why get caught up in the idea that living the hustle-game, is something to wear on your sleeve as a badge of honor? Humbly do your thing, and let the fruits of your success showâŚanything less, and people see right through.
03 â Do you place your identity in the hustle?
Placing your identity (who you are as a person / where you find your true value) in the hustle you partake in is most dangerous. It subconsciously takes over, and itâs easy to lose control.
Donât place your identity in anything you doâŚplace it in who you are, and what youâre a part of.
Family, community, faith (one of the strongest areas I place my identity / true worth in), love, and aspects of life that last forever should be at play here. But placing your identity in something you can do will let you and others down every time.
What happens if you lose your hand if youâre a professional tennis player or musician? Being that youâve placed your identity in a skill-set (gift), are you now worthless to humanity without your hand? Absolutely not! You are invaluable, and have ability to shed light in this dark world. Itâs not about what you doâŚitâs about what youâre a part of.
What is the hustle life for you?
My point is never to put anyone down in anything I do. Iâm simply a passionate dude who wants to get the message across that you carry so much more value as a person beyond how hard you hustle in life; way beyond the money you make.
For the record, these are all questions that completely pertain to me, and I need to check myself on what Iâm proposing too. Iâm guilty of all of it.
Itâs easy to place my identity in being a designer. Iâve had success with it, therefore I can at times, become prideful, placing the level of hustle in my head onto everyone else in my life. This only casts shadows, and forms unfair judgement onto those I love most. How stupid!
This does the exact opposite of what Iâm trying to do by hustling hard as a 31 year old male with a wife of 3 years, a 6 month old, and a ton of student debt. In all transparency, I struggle with this issue, and Iâm asking these questions and pointing fingers at both of us (if you relate to this issue).
Do you know why you hustle? If not, you should probably chill, and stop being so busy. Start participating in what really matters, love hard on others, and make the best of this short life youâve been given. Itâs all any of us can do, right?
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