WARNING: This may be controversial.
Do you subscribe to the current fad of "hustling"?
Hustling means:
1. force (someone) to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction.
2. obtain by forceful action or persuasion.
Whenever I hear someone saying you need to hustle to be successful, the first thoughts that came to my mind are "scam" or "rip off". When I think of someone hustling, I picture a busy subway station with people scrambling everywhere, all on their own mission, not caring for anyone else, and the person "hustling" is the pickpocket.
Not long ago I posted this topic on social media - the response was massive. People are passionate about the word - they either love it... or hate it.
The positive side of "Hustle"
Comments ranged from people feeling the word gave them inner drive and showed a person who is willing to dig deep and grind when needed to get to the next level
Some were reminded of basketball games or life on the streets. Meaning to work hard to achieve your goals and survive on your path to reaching your dreams. They believed it was not about being busy for the sake of feeling productive - it's about working hard and making things happen. For some it is not about hustling "hard", but more about being strategic with time and resources - it is even said that by hustling and being strategic about it, you can create more freedom and time for you, your family and your life - which is the point of having a successful business.
Some went so far as to say that you couldn't be successful entrepreneur unless you hustle!
The "not so" positive side of "Hustle"
Respondents believed the word is overused in entrepreneurial circles. People avoid hustling to the point that if they feel they are hustling they know it is time to take a step back and figure out what is not working in their business the way it should be. Hustle was referred to as sounding sleazy, like a scam or "fake it till you make it".
When hearing the word some people recalled the recent movie "Zootopia" that says, "It's called a hustle" about tricking and taking advantage of others".
There were warnings that people can live in danger zone with hustle because they don't know how to turn it off. And it's not until it's too late they realize they've sacrificed too much to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Some respondents believe the hustle in their life caused their burn out and harm to their business, health and life.
A word that causes so much controversy is worthy of more investigation, I have interviewed 4 uber successful business entrepreneurs on what the word means to them on a day to day basis
Gary Vaynerchuk:
"For me, 'hustle' means to put your 1000% full effort around the thing that drives you in the long term and short term. It means not allowing a single minute for silly stuff like watching funny YouTube videos."
Gary took his family business from $5M to $60M in five years, see his video called "The most important word ever" (language advisory)
Bushra Azhar: The Persuasion Revolution
"Hustle is such a fluid, relative word and I don't think there is one single definition of this word. For a single mother with two jobs trying to build her business on the side, hustle could simply be creating one social media post a day. For someone like me who has a full-time housekeeper, kids who are in school for 6 hours and a low-maintenance husband, hustle means knocking out 3 blog posts, responding to every single comment or email and still managing to do a live training. So to me, hustle really is just forward momentum...doing the best that you can within the confines of the crazy, fantastic, exhausting, magical reality of your life. Don't let anyone tell you that your hustle is not big enough or hard enough or bloody enough. As long as you are moving (or inching) forward, you are hustling."
Zach Spuckler Heart, Soul & Hustle
"To me, Hustle is doing the work that other's wont, when most people would give up. It doesn't have to mean burning the midnight oil and giving up your personal life. It's simply DOING the work while other's are PLANNING, and executing on the things you think you should do long before you have a fully flushed out plan. It really comes down to doing stuff that scares you, before you're ready, and never being afraid to fail (because you're already starting your next project)."
Amber McCue: Nice Ops
"Hustle's been all the rage for some time. "Do you really want it? You've got to hustle like you mean it, girl!" Hustle 24/7 and you are setting yourself up for massive burn out. Do you need to hustle from time to time? Yes! Can it even be FUN to hustle from time to time? Heck, yeah! But if you are in it for the long run, you have to think beyond the hustle."
Take aways from this exercise:
Weather you use the word to drive you and keep you moving forward or weather you despise the word and the connotations that come along with it. The way that the word "hustle" is used in entrepreneurial circles today is not as t is defined in the Merriam-Webster. The word clearly means different things to different people, it comes down to semantics and subjectivity, there is a bit of disconnect with the understanding of the word and the context it's used in."
Honestly, it may not matter; in the big scheme of things it is just a word, however two things to consider:
1. What does it mean to your customers/clients? The word clearly draws divided opinions. If you chose to use the word, you need to know it is controversial and it may divide your customer base.
2. If you have negative connotations associated with the word, DO NOT use it. It may be a trend, however thoughts create your words and words create your reality. As much as it is only a word, it is a word to use (or not) with intent.
It is likely it is time for you to get back to work, and get your hustle on. To know the exact steps to drive your business, get things done and set yourself up for success and freedom check out this free resource "Get It Done"
And if you want one last bit of inspiration - check out this video
I believe that "if you fuel your hustle with connecting, loving, serving and giving with no days off, then I guarantee, your sweat equity will soon pay off."