You read that title right. Everything about the hustle is one big F*%#!&# lie!
I simply don’t buy into it. Don’t get me wrong, you gotta “hustle” for small periods of time here & there, but it should never be a lifestyle.
There are too many issues with “the hustle.” In today’s post, we’re going to break down why you shouldn’t aim to hustle, why it’s a lie, and what you should do instead.
Hustling as an Image
Hustling, working hard, and working-your-face off is highly regarded in societies around the world.
Whoever puts in the most hours is getting the biggest results, right?
When one man says “I worked a 65 hour work week,” another so-called hustler is quick to one-up with the “oh yeah, I hit 72.8 hours this week and it’s only Thursday!”
Rarely does anyone measure the effectiveness of one’s hours. Not all hours are created equal.
These days hustling has become an identity that strips away your freedom, happiness, and true potential.
Is it really worth sacrificing your life to say you had the longest work-week?
Hustling Doesn’t Make You Special
Anyone can work more hours, and anyone can find more useless work to do.
You can re-wash all of the dishes, take apart your car, wash it piece by piece, and listen to “epic hustle music” but that doesn’t mean the day was effective.
For some reason the hustle is glorified in our society. I blame entrepreneurs like Gary V.
He’s got some good advice, but also terrible advice regarding hustling. Even Gary V admitted to regretting losing his youth to being a work-a-holic!
Gary V has some good content here & there, but let me ask you: do you want to take advice from someone that recommends squashing a decade of your life for some mysterious point long in the future when you’ll be successful?
Hustling Is Counter-Productive
Studies have proven time & time again that more work past a certain point is not effective.
The typical work week is “40 hours,” and even then I believe that’s too long. Factor in commutes & breaks and it ends up being more like 50-60 hours per week.
The work week used to be longer than 40 hours, but it was discovered that by reducing the work week to 40 hours companies would actually save for money.
Their employees had time for love, health, and lifestyle! So they worked better!
In the past year I did not work more than 20 hours in one week. I also visited 8 countries, ate out almost every single day, and bought things I wanted like clothes & games.
I’m not trying to brag, I’m just showing you it’s possible to get more done in less time.
Efficiency vs. Hustling
Occasionally you will have times you need to hustle. I’m expanding my online business right now, and 3 weeks ago I was working almost all day.
But I do not stop and repeat the same things over each & every day. I reflect, optimize the work-load, and become more efficient.
The same task that took me 6 hours per day 3 weeks ago now takes me about 2 hours per day, and I increased my output by 50%.
I could’ve jerked my ego off by talking about my 10 hour work days, but I’m not in the business of trying to impress others. I live for me, myself, and I- and you should too.
Should I not remind you to work efficiently? I can achieve in a 5-10 hour work week what others take a 40-50 hour work week to accomplish, and I’m only getting better!
My goal isn’t to appear a successful entrepreneur. My goal is to live a life that fulfills me.
Stop appearing successful & start being successful.
Give The Hustle To Assistants
Besides becoming efficient, you can also hire assistants to help you for long-term, repetitive tasks. Even employees should consider doing this.
For example, even if you don’t have a business you should consider hiring someone to do your home cleaning & shopping for you.
You don’t pay the cleaner or the shopper for the value they provide- yes, you can easily do what they’re doing.
You pay these people to buy back time. I always told my mom one day I’d never do my laundry or the dishes, and I’m 1-2 months away from this goal.
I’m also at a point in my online business where I’m identifying several repetitive tasks that I should hire assistants to do for me.
It’s quite a bit scary letting go, but I’m at the time that it needs to happen.
WHY Do You Want To Hustle?
Most people want to live successful, fulfilling lives. The hustle is a temporary means seen as a way to make this happen, so people get obsessed with the hustle.
The problem is people get caught up in the means, AKA the “hustle,” without realizing that the hustle is simply a tool you use to teach your destination.
If you’re hustling for longer than 1 month, or at most 3, something is extremely wrong.
Before hustling, what you need to do is seek clarity.
Seek Clarity First
Successful people define exactly what they want, then how they’re going to get there.
This way they don’t get caught over-working themselves in the name of the “hustle.”
For example, making money online and traveling the world is not a clear goal. How much will you make? How will you make it? How many hours should you work? Where will you travel to? How do you travel the world? What will you do with your phone?
By becoming more clear on your goals, the means to achieve your goals becomes clear.
Define exactly what you want, and paths will reveal themselves to you.
You may have to hustle for a short period of time, like I was a few weeks ago for 2 weeks.
You will have clarity though, so you can actually grow, rather than jerking your ego off by coming home too drained to question whether you’re actually doing anything productive.
People like Gary V have great intentions, and even a little good advice (plus a good book). However, his hustling advice is God-awful.
It doesn’t take 10 years of life lost to enjoy life. You shouldn’t be working more than 4-6efficient hours in a day.
ENJOY YOUR LIFE
Most of all, you need to enjoy your life.
I’m certain that in about 5 years max I’ll be a millionaire. That doesn’t mean I hustle, over-work, and sacrifice the next 5 years of my life to get there. NO!
It’s a process, a game. I’m working on enjoying my life now, while also growing working at most part-time.
I was sitting with a super successful entrepreneur the other day, and we were sharing laughs about the ridiculousness of the hustle.
He moved to Pafos, Cyprus (where I currently am) to chill out and grow his several businesses slowly.
The maximum you can make by hustling is at best 6 figures. If you want to retain any degree of life fulfillment/lifestyle, you must be efficient. To extend to 7 figures you must hire help, or be incredibly efficient (or leverage the internet).
Do Not Hustle. Work Smart.
In short, don’t hustle. If you feel compelled to, ask yourself “why?”
It’s probably because you want to appear “better,” more hard-working, or more successful.
You could be wanting to appear this way to others, or perhaps yourself.
Don’t waste your life. Define what you want, seek clarity, then work smart.
Yes, sometimes you will have to work hard, and hustle. But it should not be a continuous thing; there should always be an exit.
Good luck!
-Michael
