The most effective way to hustle is to think about what you can give, not what you can get from others.
—
Mr. Aspiring Entrepreneur, understand “the hustle.”
Hustle is a popular topic today, especially among (aspiring) entrepreneurs. You’ll hear it talked about on podcasts. You’ll see it mentioned in blog posts. You’ll find it in a hashtag on social media.
#hustle
But there’s a problem. The “hustle” is beginning to be misunderstood. And there’s another problem. Misunderstanding hustle can hurt you and others around you.
There are different perceptions of what it means to hustle. It might make you think of people with dark personalities hawking pirated cd’s in a dark alley. On the other hand, thinking about hustle may remind you of the undersized athlete you admire.
If you’re reading The Good Men Project, I doubt you aspire to be the guy selling cd’s in the alley. Besides, who buys cd’s anymore?
Hustling on the court.
Young entrepreneurs consistently misunderstand hustle. When they think of hustle, they often think of sports.
I’m horrible at basketball. Always have been. I’m the last to be picked during pickup games, and my friends assure me that things won’t ever change. However, things were different when I was in junior high school. There was never any question that I would make the team. With only seven players, everyone—including me—was valuable.
The only reasons my teammates would ever pass me the ball was because they had suffered an injury or were handling a hot potato. I was just not good on offense.
But damn did I hustle.
I was the kid diving after a ball to keep it in play. I’d run up and down the court for a fast break, just in case anyone took a risk and passed me the ball. I’d block shots from the small guys and steal passes from the tall guys.
In sports, hustle means to give all the effort you can. Kids who make the hustle plays are rewarded with admiration. Even professional players are held to a hustle standard. Players are booed by fans when they don’t hustle. Slacking is seen as being disrespectful to the game.
Hustle is noble.
Don’t put yourself above menial tasks. Instead, treat the smallest responsibilities as the biggest opportunities.
|
At first glance, there’s no obvious reason why hustling in sports leads to a misunderstanding of hustling in business. If hustle is good on the court, then it must be good off of it. Right?
Where hustle can go wrong.
In business, to hustle still means to give all the effort you can, but there’s one extra aspect to the new meaning.
Not only does hustle mean max effort. It has also come to mean seeing how much you can get from others.
Hustle goes wrong when we shift our efforts from giving to getting. Nobody hustles simply for the sake of hustling. There’s something deeper. There’s something motivating us to hustle, whether it’s a cause or because we want to achieve greatness.
Hustle doesn’t need to be selfish. Selfish hustle isn’t just emotionally and physically draining. It’s also ineffective.
If you reframe the way you look at hustle, you’ll have more energy to work hard and will actually reach your own goals faster.
Three simple pillars of hustle.
For a healthier, more fulfilling hustle, think about how to apply these three pillars to your everyday actions.
- Helping – Hustling is less about what you can get and more about what you can give. I got my first big break in business after a three-month search for how I could help a conference organizer run his big event. He eventually took me on, and I worked for free. Not only did I pull in three contracts from that event to work others for a high fee, but that’s where I met an editor at The Good Men Project. Now I get the opportunity to help others through my writing.
- Humility – Nobody wants help from an arrogant person. Be willing to do the free work, especially in the early stages of your startup. Don’t put yourself above menial tasks. Instead, treat the smallest responsibilities as the biggest opportunities. If you approach each situation from a place of humility, you’ll attract good people.
- Hard work – At the end of the day, hustle still requires hard work. Lots of it. When hard work comes from a place of helpfulness and humility, the work matters more
Admittedly, none of those three suggestions are groundbreaking. Frankly, they don’t need to be. They work.
Hustle to give, not just to take.
The great Zig Ziglar has a quote that captures a healthy view of hustle.
“If you want to achieve your goals, help others achieve theirs.”
This tiny mindset shift can make a world of difference in your business, success, and the meaningful impact you have on others.
—
Photo: Flickr/Takuma Kimura