Hustle Culture, Today

Hustle Culture has evolved from its roots of “YOU GOTTA JUST WORK HARD! RISE AND GRIND!” I’ve seen the top hustle influencers like GaryVee go from telling everyone “Work hard and you’ll win” to really conveying the difficulty of the grind. Honestly, it’s refreshing because there are some creators like Grant Cardone that still perpetuate the toxic side of hustle culture. I think Cardone once said something to the effect of “If you’re not making at least $400K/year then you’re a failure as a man.”

There have been countless influential personas contribute to the biohacking movement where “every morning you have to wake up at 5am, do a cold plunge while meditating and manifesting your future. Then spend 30 minutes in a sauna using water infused with electrolytes in order to bring out the toxins that contribute to [whatever health thing]. Don’t eat breakfast because of intermittent fasting but take in these 18 vitamins to empower your mind” (I went down a rabbit trail there just to cover all the crazy things I’ve heard over the years).

Many who heard this toxic side of hustle culture responded by posing the question, “is that the life you want to live?” or “What is the measure of success?” Maybe in the future we can talk in depth about the definition of success, but for now, I’ll mention that you get to decide your definition of success. Alex Hormozi says “You get to choose your hard.” Every path in life will have its difficulties. Choose which one you way. It’s hard to climb the corporate ladder and figure out how to make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars a year. It’s also hard living paycheck to paycheck. So in a world focused on “the grind” and “the hustle”, it’s great to view content from Alex Hormozi that’s just an authentic take on the path to being a billionaire.

Watch History

What Can You Learn From Hustle Culture?

Alex Hormozi is an Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist focused on cataloging his journey to become a billionaire. He started off building his own brick-and-mortar business, a network of gyms, and after he grew that and sold it, he now runs Acquisition.com. Through his online resources, he help small business owners grow and succeed in their own ventures. Really, its a very smart structure he’s put together. Build a portfolio of resources that you either give away for free (or a relatively affordable price, like his books) that help small businesses grow. Once those businesses have grown to $1M in revenue then you can work with Acquisition to scale from there. He provides resources for free that builds you into a future customer for him. Genius.

I started watching his content maybe within this last year. His books $100M Offers and $100M Leads are great for people looking to understand what services they offer and how to find clientele. If that’s something that’s interesting to you - maybe you’re wanting to know how to be a better salesperson or how to build your own side business and you need to understand your value proposition - You can buy the book here.

I listened to this episode and a follow-up episode and while there were some great quotes and topics discussed, it really just got me thinking about Hustle Culture and reflecting on what this mindset does to society.

Takeaways from the Episode

This podcast is formatted as the host, Chris Williamson, reading off tweets and quotes from Hormozi and then they discuss it. And while there are things they focused in on that I disagree with, this conversation is a great framework reminder. What do I mean by that?

As I mentioned, Hustle Culture resounded with the call of “do the hard work”, and then there was a rise in this entrepreneur bubble with people saying “anyone can become rich! It’s easy!” I find that the truth is in the middle.

I actually do believe that anyone can be rich. It’s a more optimistic viewpoint, I know. But I believe that with as much information is available at our fingertips, anyone can learn how to become rich. However, that journey is not without difficulty. It’s a long road to achieve your goals - not to mention the phenomenon of you always moving that goal post when you are about to reach it. Those that say “it’s easy” are lying to you. It’s a lot to learn and it’s a lot to do. Content like this serves as a reminder to keep up the work - that it’s a part of the deal. When you strive for more, you have to strive more.

This discussion between Hormozi and Williamson shares many insightful truths from Hormozi’s experience. Hustle Culture may have gotten too over the top, but that doesn’t mean that working hard gets you nothing. I believe learning from the journey of others is invaluable, so I highly recommend listening to these couple episodes.

Here are some notes I took on the episode:

• “The best way to guarantee a life you hate of to do the things that everyone else is doing.”

  • Don’t let the naysayers get to you and stop you from doing what you want to do.

• “You’re not afraid of failing. You’re afraid of what people will say if you fail.”

• “You’ve already achieved goals you said would make you happy.”

  • The importance of gratitude and being present in the moment

• “There’s no shortcut for you… Do the work that is required.”

• “Most people’s definition of work is negative. You say work and they hear pain.”

So should we listen to hustle culture, today? 
I say yes.
Why?
because I believe there are things to learn from every perspective.
Should you work hard?
Absolutely.
At the cost of your family or personal life? 
I say no, but also depends on your view on your personal life.
Should you just go out and party all the time?
I say no. There’s better things to do with your time.
Should you just be content with what you have?
Content? Yes. Complacent? No.

There’s so much within this topic of hustle culture and work ethic. I’d love to keep discussing it in the comments! I hope you find time to listen to these episodes and then feel free to leave a comment so we can discuss viewpoints and takeaways together.

Add to Watch Later:

• 23 Harsh Truths Nobody Wants To Admit - Alex Hormozi

• 21 Brutally Honest Lessons To Improve Your Life - Alex Hormozi

• 24 Controversial Truths About Success & Failure - Alex Hormozi

Reading List

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I’m still working my way through this book and it’s been great! It has such great insights into the details of creating atomic habits.

The framework is to
1. Make it Obvious,
2. Make it Attractive,
3. Make it Easy, and
4. Make it Satisfying.

I’m half-way through the “Make it Easy” Step and I can’t recommend this book enough for those looking to build habits or even improve their current habits. A good portion of what I read so far has to do with setting up your environment for success. So even if you already have great habits, this book gives you a better understanding of building the best system setting you up for success.

We Who Wrestle With God by Jordan B Peterson

I have never read such a deep and insightful book. Seriously. I have devoted hours to reading and I’m not even done with Chapter 1 (Section 1? He breaks it down into 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc). It’s not that I’m learning revolutionary new information, but it’s building the backing for beliefs I already have. Peterson arrives at profound conclusions and reading through his thought processes helps me have such a deeper appreciation for God, His Word, His Creation, and more. Highly recommend picking this up!

Shopping List

I’ve compiled a list of the books that I mention in case you want to pick any of it up. Full disclosure, these are affiliate links. Doesn’t cost anything extra on your end, I just get a kickback if you use my link to make a purchase.