I’ve been thinking a lot about the word hustle lately.
It literally surrounds me. It’s on the necklace I wear around my neck most days and there’s a Good Things Come To Those Who Hustle poster hanging over my desk.
Despite the necklace and the poster, I wonder if I’m really hustling or if I’m just full of crap.
While I was in LA, I finished the book Power Your Happy, by the creator of Pop Sugar.
Obviously I’m in awe of all Lisa Sugar has created, hot damn Pop Sugar has done well. But one aspect of the book rubbed me the wrong way. Lisa talks about how during the early days she would spend every waking second writing new articles for Pop Sugar. Even so far as to be on her computer while she was hanging out with friends.
She was eating, sleeping and breathing her side hustle.
It made me start to wonder, am I working hard enough to make my entrepreneurial, #girlboss, dreams come true? Because the truth is, I’m not spending every waking hour growing Kayla in the City, my instagram following or Holistic Happening.
When I go out to dinner with friends I put my phone away. I do my best to be fully present and not absorbed in writing and social media when my boyfriend is here.
On days like today, where I woke at 5:30AM to work out before a full day of work and then came home and wrote a blog post, my brain is mush by dinnertime. Despite the 3:00PM Match Latte.
Maybe if Lisa hadn’t devoted that kind of time and energy to her side hustle, the company wouldn’t be where it is today. But I also hope and believe there’s another way.
My hustle might not look like that. But that doesn’t mean I’m not working my ass off to make shit happen.
My New Hustle Manifesto
Hustle to me is…
✨ putting my phone away during a night out with girlfriends. Because my friends are more important than pageviews and followers.
✨ respecting that working out, eating right and getting enough sleep are actually crucial for getting shit done for my businesses. If I’m tired from staying up too late and didn’t get my endorphin boost from working out, I’m going to produce shit work.
✨ working smarter not harder. It’s not about how many blog posts I can get up, it’s about making sure they are good blog posts.
✨ respecting that I’m only human and actually do need downtime and breaks.
✨ making shit happen on my own timeline, not someone else’s.
✨ knowing when to recharge. I’m a huge fan of playing games, especially roulette (which, by the way, can be played on a mobile casino online) and taking a long-ass walk when I know I’m hitting a mental block.
✨ realizing that the best ideas happen in the shower. During long runs. Or on an airplane. And during any of those cracks and crevices of free time where your brain can just think.
✨ minting some extra money from platforms similar to oxi casino.
✨ not losing sight of the important things in life: friendships, relationships, and family.
✨ constantly learning. I’m always listening to podcasts, finding new online courses, or reading inspiring books.
✨ but above all, it’s still staying focused on my ultimate dreams.
It might not look like Lisa Sugar’s hustle, or anyone else’s hustle. But that doesn’t mean I should discount myself and feel like I’m not working hard.
Your turn: How do you define hustle?
I really support this post and this message. I have so many dreams and aspirations and while working a full time job, I spent every spare minute of my time working on my dreams. I simply didn’t have the time to focus on them so I felt I had to make up for it by working excessive hours, ignoring meals and sleep.
I want to do a big post on this subject and my story on my own blog, The Lady Grey, but long story short, I’ve quit my job due to stress and sickness and I get sick every three weeks because my body is simply too run down to function anymore. It interferes with the simplest of tasks, my boss couldn’t handle all my sick days, and it’s been knocking me out for weeks at a time, and the only thing I can do now is rest and try and get back to full health once and for all.
So I really do support this post, and I agree that it’s very important to work smart and look after yourself in order to achieve the best results in all areas. Thanks for sharing!
Ugh I SO feel you and have totally been there — forgoing sleep for the sake of staying up to write one my blog post and answer one more email. It still happens from time to time…
Hoping this time away from typical work hours gives you the rest + recovery you need.
I love this post so much!!!
Thank you 💕