Have you ever seen a hamster on a hamster wheel?

They are hustling. You can’t argue that! But are they getting anywhere?

Exactly, and that’s why this notion of hustle is played out.

Look, don’t get me wrong, you have to work YOUR ASS OFF if you want to be successful and the truth is most people won’t and don’t put in the kind of real  hard work required.  The reality is, for most people, their definition of hard work isn’t anywhere close to the true definition of hard work is.  True, real, hard work is unreasonable to most people. So yes, hustle or hard work is critical to success, but few people are willing to work that hard.

For those who are willing to hustle, most hustle for a little while and quit.

Why?

For some, it’s because they discover hustle is too hard. They realize they just don’t want to work that hard.  For others, it’s because they are hustling on the wrong things. They are hustling for “hustles” sake. They’re working hard. They’re hustling, just like a hamster on a hamster wheel and getting nowhere.

The key to hustle is to know where to put in your time, where to focus your hustle, when to prioritize your hustle, and where to stop focusing your hustle. Successful people out work others, but it’s where they outwork others that wins.  It’s what they prioritize in their hustle. Winners put their hustle into those things that have the greatest return.

Knowledge:

Take note people, not many of you are going to like what I say here, but the truth hurts. Few of you hustle in the knowledge department. Few people have deliberate learning plans. Few people spend 20 or 30 percent of their time learning. They spend so much time doing, running on the hamster wheel, that they don’t expand their understanding and knowledge of what they’re doing. They don’t become experts. They don’t know more than everyone else. They don’t become connoisseurs. Knowledge is the most important and dominant trait of the successful. They learn more than everyone else and are constantly staying ahead of the learning curve. If you’re a hustler, how much time are you hustling knowledge?

The Little Shit: 

This focus of hustle has HUGE gain. Why? Not because it’s hard, or sophisticated, but because few people do it.  People HATE the little shit. I’m guilty as charged on this one. The little shit is the mundane, boring, stuff everyone hates doing that in collective makes a big difference. Hustling in this area is big. Spending time doing all the little things that most people won’t do creates separation.  It’s how you get ahead of your competition. You wanna make big changes, don’t make one or two big changes, make lots and lots of little changes. Focus on the little shit, put your hustle there, that’s not running on the hamster wheel.

Innovation:

 I could have called this creativity too.  Most of us spend our hustle trying to copy, follow and fit in.That type of hustle is running on a hamster wheel.  You may be working hard, but you’re not going anywhere. True hustlers are hustling to find ways to be different, to be first, to be unique, to be innovative, to separate themselves from the pack.  Use your hustle to differentiate, to find new solutions, to solve problems others haven’t solved.  Put your hustle to innovation and creation.

Hustle matters, working hard is critical. There is no doubt. I will never argue that. The problem is too many people are being told they can hustle their way to success, and that’s just not true. You have to have a good idea. You have to know more than everyone else in y0ur space. You have to expand your knowledge base daily. You have to do all the little, itty bitty, boring, frustrating, annoying things that seem not to matter. You have to have luck. Hustle alone won’t do anything but make you tired.

Don’t be fooled. It’s not the hustle that wins. It’s where you focus the hustle.

Are you hustling right or are you running on a hamster wheel?