Is It Hustle? Or something else?

Staying up late on a Sunday night working on a project. Is that hustle?

Working 16 hours a day on a new idea. Is that hustle?

Foregoing social outings in lieu of shipping your product. Is that hustle?

“Hustle” has become the drug of choice for many entrepreneurs. A glorification of doing what no one else will to see success that no one else will experience.

What is it exactly?

Hard work?

Taking action?

An attitude?

Getting out of bed an hour earlier?

Is it working faster? Is it applying yourself? Is it something to covet and celebrate?

Working hard has never gone out of style — and I am not suggesting it should.

But to believe that ‘out-hustling’ the next guy will be your key to success is a bit short-sighted. To call working late or sacrificing a social life “hustling” is a misappropriation of your skills, talents, abilities — maybe even your life.

Maybe what we regard as hustling (the good kind) is genuinely working hard. Maybe it is a flaming hot passion for our work. Maybe it is the drive to create something bigger than ourselves. Maybe it is to leave a legacy or change the world.

To summarize it as hustle devalues both your cause and the work you’re doing.

Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash