You just have to “hustle” more.
You need to “grind.”
If you’re not “producing,” you’re losing.
“16 hour work days? Sh*t, I work 20.”
“I work while you sleep, so I win.”
Fast cars. Big houses. Cool pictures.
Empty bank accounts. Empty dinner tables. Empty souls.
There is an entrepreneurial fetish taking over our culture, specifically for millennials.
“6 Figures in 6 Months.”
“Increase your social footprint and MONETIZE.”
“Get paid to be your ‘authentic’ self!”
“Utilize your unique skillsets to make money FAST!”
“Side-biz your way into financial freedom…”
Just sign here.
Forfeit your soul on this line.
Exploit your friends on page 2.
Create an unrealistic version of your life in week 1.
Start a business you know NOTHING about in week 2.
Get frustrated by week 3.
Compare yourself to all of social media by week 4.
Keep grinding, your time is coming.
Find yourself depressed in 6 short weeks.
Start self-medicating by week 8!
Question the entire meaning of your existence and self-worth within 3 months.
Friends, we are in an epidemic.
We have created a culture desperate to be KNOWN and settling for being SEEN.
We trade intimate relationships for likes, comments, and shares.
We create a facade of perceived success and glamour while our internal world crumbles.
We isolate ourselves from friends and family because the addiction to social affirmation becomes the compass we follow on the voyage of self-discovery.
GO VIRAL. GO VIRAL. GO VIRAL.
We sell our souls for an idea we didn’t know we needed or wanted.
We sacrifice REAL relationships for dopamine and seratonin hits.
We find ourselves alone… isolated… broke…
You were PROMISED “success” and you’re more empty than ever before.
You equated your worth with your usefulness and social platform, and now…..
You’re pulling away from your partner.
You’re spending more time on social media than playing with your kids.
You check your phone every 60 seconds because THIS IS THE POST THAT CHANGES THE GAME…
Only, it doesn’t.
And so what do you do?
I NEED TO HUSTLE MORE.
I NEED TO WORK MORE.
“Family, you don’t understand… This is for YOU!!!!!”
Only it’s not. Neither is the self-medicating…
You just fell into the trap of success-perception, which is…. at this moment…
Being SEEN.
You’re hustling and grinding because you want to be SEEN.
And make no mistake, this happens in your normal workplace as well…
We are conditioned to OUTWORK the other guy.
Longer hours. More paperwork.
RESULTS. RESULTS. RESULTS.
I just need my boss to SEE me…
But you can’t turn it off…
You just want to turn the f*cking thing off…
But you can’t… because it’s a HABIT now.
Just like going to the bar.
Just like the porn you watch to release the same dopamine.
Just like the social media you check to verify your “influence.”
Just like the long days and nights at the office that are going to “pay off soon.”
Well, friend, how is that s**t paying off?
How’s your picture perfect life stacking up against the rest of your news feed?
Are you impressive yet?
Is the whole family smiling?
Maybe, just maybe…. the best thing you could do…
For you, for your family, for us…
Is to say,
“You know, I wanted to post a perfect picture last night, but I could quite get the angle of the gun in my mouth to really captivate a positive image.”
Maybe then we could all put the bullsh*t of
Out-Working
Out-Living
Out-Succeeding
Out-Producing
Out-Hustling
Out-Grinding
Out-Influencing
Out-Perfecting
Each other and realize…
Sh*t, we’re really missing it.
And to you, who made it this far in reading…
You’re worth knowing.
You’re worth being known, fully.
You’re worth being loved.
Who you are, in this moment…
It’s enough.
You are enough.
Without all the bulls**t.
Even if you lost everything.
You’ll still be enough.
Previously published on Facebook.
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