Stop Telling Me To Hustle!

Stop Telling Me To Hustle!

 

 

 

 

I don’t often rant.

 

Well, okay fine, I do…just not always in public.

 

But today I just have to finally get it out of my system once and for all: I HATE being told that I have to HUSTLE if I want to succeed!

 

I hate the word Hustle.

 

I hate all that the word conjures up — cheap suits, the smell of cigarettes mixed with cologne and a hint of desperation, and the bitter taste of the word “no.”

 

It makes me feel rushed, and chaotic…like a hamster on a wheel (and if you don’t already know how I feel about that, you can read about it here ).

 

And it makes me feel pushy.

 

And kind of icky…and gross.

I read some Facebook image the other day with the words, “Life is 90% hustle, and 10% sleep.”

 

And this other one: “Hustle hard or die broke.”

 

Ugh.

 

This is just so NOT how I want to live my life…and not at all what I accept as being “necessary” for success.

 

Do I work hard? You bet I do. And I still sleep. Waaaayyyy more than 10% of my time.

 

Do I make sales calls? Ask for referrals? Tell people I meet about what I do and how I do it and that I am pretty darn good at it, too?

 

Yep.

 

But not a single moment of that time do I act or feel like or even remotely resemble One Who Hustles. (And not just because I don’t wear cheap suits.)

 

To hustle is, to me, to push…to shove…to go-go-go and force my way into the life that I have my sights set upon.

 

And I don’t want to force my way into anything.

 

On sales calls, I never want prospective clients to feel like I have schmoozed them into making a buying decision that was really not in their best interest. You’ll not hear the words, “If you wanted success in your business bad enough, you’d find a way to pay me.” I won’t tell someone that they must sell their grandmother’s ring to pay my fees and that if they don’t, they’re sabotaging themselves forevermore.

 

So. Effin’. Gross.

 

When I meet people, I don’t want them to feel like the conversation we’ve had is “all about me” and how they can help me…with not one ounce of interest in who they are and how I may be able to support them.

 

And when I am done work for the day, I don’t want every thought, every conversation, every interaction to be about business. Nope. Sometimes I want to zone out and watch Gilmore Girls with my kids. And sometimes I want to have a bath and think about when I am going to get myself back to those Rocky Mountains again…or whether or not now is the time to plant spring bulbs.

 

I have a life outside of my work, and the implication that I have to HUSTLE to succeed seems to negate any other pursuit in life, and that’s just not at all why I am in business.

 

I am in business to feel good about what I do. When asked the other day what I do that lights up my world, I said that my work lights up my world. And it does. I truly love what I do. And I believe I succeed in business not because I hustle, but because I don’t.

 

Because I believe in creating in ease and flow, not pushing and shoving my way

along.

 

Because I believe in helping prospective clients make wise financial decisions, not pawn granddad’s medal of honour to pay my fees.

 

Because I sleep more than I work, not the other way around.

 

And because, I simply must add, I don’t wear cheap suits…or smoke cigarettes for that matter.

 

It takes guts and determination, drive and passion, tenacity and an ounce of batshit-craziness to build a business. But it also takes sleep. And ease. And having a life that you love at the same time. So you can hold the hustle, dear reader…and let’s go light up the world from THAT place instead.

 

 

 

 

About the Author:

Rebecca Liston helps her clients predict, pivot, and compete in an increasingly complex global marketplace. Her clients quickly uncover the root of their challenges and know the actions to take to overcome them. A six-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, Rebecca combines business strategy with intuition, giving her clients the edge on forward-thinking, elegant answers to their most complicated problems. Her clients are entrepreneurs with CEO-mindsets and executives with entrepreneurial instincts. She is based in London, Ontario. What if you could get the answer to your biggest business challenge, in one sitting? Visit rebeccaliston.com to find out more.