Social media has glamorized hustle culture for so long, that we are now in an anti-hustle culture season. A lot of people just want a regular job sending emails and to go home at 5 pm. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as long as you can afford it. However, if you have dug yourself into a hole of debt, that is not the path for you. The TLDR for this post, I think sometimes we need to hustle for a season if we have to correct past mistakes. Nobody wants to hustle forever. Nobody wants to hustle when they’re old. But while you are young, or have fewer responsibilities, you have to take advantage of the time you have. I think a few years of hustling, will get you light years ahead, and I believe it’s worth it.
What does hustling mean to me? It could be going back to school at night to finish your degree. It could be driving Uber and food delivery. It could be studying hard every weekend to learn a new skill and pass a certification exam. Some people are even working multiple WFH jobs in different time zones. Or maybe you are delaying all gratification and cutting the budget to the bare bones. For a set time, putting your nose to the grindstone can pay off exponentially.
For it to be worth it, you need to set a big goal for yourself. Become laser-focused and push anything out of your way that does not align. This won’t work for everyone. If you are the type to rebel when things get hard, this may not be for you. But if you’re like me, nothing motivates me more than an ‘impossible’ goal.
You can’t pay off your mortgage that fast! It’s unrealistic.
Nobody pays off their student loan debt, it’s just a part of life.
Everyone has a car payment, what is the big deal?
A few grand on my credit card is not really hurting my future, I deserve that vacation.
It takes 30-40 years to reach a million invested. You can’t do it faster.
If that is your mindset, this post is not for you. But if you want to make huge strides to pay off debt or invest heavily, forget the naysayers and HUSTLE. Level up your skillset, start that business, or join every gig app there is with zero shame. They will call you crazy. Then they will ask you how you did it. And then the pièce de résistance : “You’re so lucky.”
