The Art of the Hustler
There is a fundamental disconnect between the way most people see a hustler and what a hustler sees when she or he looks in the mirror. On a bad day, a hustler sees themselves as someone who needs to improve drastically. On a good day, a hustler sees themselves as someone who could have done something different to improve their hustle. The consistency is the fact that a hustler always strives to be better.
The Art of a Hustler is not simple. In fact, it's quite complex and the combination of a variety of different attributes are what truly make a hustler in the modern sense of the word an outstanding professional and the key to many organizations success and growth.
The first piece to recognize is that there is key difference between wanting to be a hustler and becoming a hustler. This is an issue sweeping North America as young professionals are sitting back watching others live life to the fullest without making the steps to achieve a lifestyle that they truly want. Many of these individuals have amazing and inspirational aspirations but that's all they have. They don't have the results or the resume to support the fact that they are actually out there chasing these ambitious goals.
As a result of having unfulfilled goals - These people find themselves in a depressing and an often anxious state. From here, they begin to make excuses on why they are unable to achieve the goals and dreams that they truly want. A true hustler however, doesn't make excuses. They show up. And by showing up I mean they make the effort and put in the hours to get closer to achieving the life of their dreams. As Abraham Lincoln said,
The combination of aspirations and ambition is truly the fuel that drives a Hustler. A hustler has a vision (although often blurry) of what they want their legacy to look like when they leave this world. In this scene from the movie, Pursuit of Happiness we find a father providing his son with hustler-esque advice regarding ambition and aspirations:
Hustlers also strive to achieve excellence in the following areas:
Value Hardwork
The opposite of a hustler is someone who doesn't give their 100%. Unconsciously these people don't put in 100% because if they fail their talent can be questioned. However, by putting in 80% and failing they can look at those around them and say: "If I would have worked harder, I would have succeeded." This is not the mentality of a hustler.
A hustler takes personal responsibility for failure more often than they will take responsibility for success. A hustler puts in the blood, sweat and tears with one intent - success. They don't see failure as an option and will do all they can to achieve their goals. This determination is the driving factor behind their obsession with working hard. A hustler strives to perfect their craft daily and doesn't flinch when someone tells them their idea is crazy.
An example of the hustler mentality when it comes to hard work can be seen in NFL Linebacker Ray Lewis:
Understand Smartwork
A Hustler is not a mule. (See: What is a "mule" in a start-up company?) A hustler believes and recognizes that they have a core advantage over any one else. This advantage is not in their ability to work hard but instead in their ability work smarter. For years, there have been books published and seminars given promoting different methods to persuade and influence people. A common suggestion found in these recommendations includes the idea of "Make 500 sales calls and sell 5 of product X". Meaning, if you're willing to work harder than everyone else you'll have a slight advantage. And by slight, they mean one additional sale. What these guys are missing is something called Smartwork..
Smartwork is the ability to understand the dynamics of a conversation. It's all about frame control and understanding the cues that people give off unconsciously that provide you with an opportunity to control the frame. A Hustler is a lifelong student of Social Dynamics and Negotiation. They enjoy the company of people but enjoy analyzing their interactions so they can become a better communicator. See below for an excellent example of a hustler in action:
Hustlers need to understand how to sell everything from a product to an idea. Joseph Hsieh discloses a variety of ways in his answer that would benefit you in negotiations. Here are a few things I'd add:
Love your Hustle
If you are honestly not obsessed with your hustle then you will not achieve hustler status. A hustler loves the product or service they are offering and believes that it is solving an issue for those around them. At the end of the day, to do something well you need to enjoy doing it. Hustlers have found what they enjoy doing and wake up every morning excited to get closer to fulfilling their aspirations and goals.
NOTE: The definition of hustle can be defined in two different ways. The first, is in the traditional sense where it's someone who works hard for what
they do in a legitimate way and the other is one who works hard yet
makes profit by taking advantage of others weaknesses.
There is a fundamental disconnect between the way most people see a hustler and what a hustler sees when she or he looks in the mirror. On a bad day, a hustler sees themselves as someone who needs to improve drastically. On a good day, a hustler sees themselves as someone who could have done something different to improve their hustle. The consistency is the fact that a hustler always strives to be better.
The Art of a Hustler is not simple. In fact, it's quite complex and the combination of a variety of different attributes are what truly make a hustler in the modern sense of the word an outstanding professional and the key to many organizations success and growth.
The first piece to recognize is that there is key difference between wanting to be a hustler and becoming a hustler. This is an issue sweeping North America as young professionals are sitting back watching others live life to the fullest without making the steps to achieve a lifestyle that they truly want. Many of these individuals have amazing and inspirational aspirations but that's all they have. They don't have the results or the resume to support the fact that they are actually out there chasing these ambitious goals.
As a result of having unfulfilled goals - These people find themselves in a depressing and an often anxious state. From here, they begin to make excuses on why they are unable to achieve the goals and dreams that they truly want. A true hustler however, doesn't make excuses. They show up. And by showing up I mean they make the effort and put in the hours to get closer to achieving the life of their dreams. As Abraham Lincoln said,
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
The combination of aspirations and ambition is truly the fuel that drives a Hustler. A hustler has a vision (although often blurry) of what they want their legacy to look like when they leave this world. In this scene from the movie, Pursuit of Happiness we find a father providing his son with hustler-esque advice regarding ambition and aspirations:
Hustlers also strive to achieve excellence in the following areas:
Value Hardwork
The opposite of a hustler is someone who doesn't give their 100%. Unconsciously these people don't put in 100% because if they fail their talent can be questioned. However, by putting in 80% and failing they can look at those around them and say: "If I would have worked harder, I would have succeeded." This is not the mentality of a hustler.
A hustler takes personal responsibility for failure more often than they will take responsibility for success. A hustler puts in the blood, sweat and tears with one intent - success. They don't see failure as an option and will do all they can to achieve their goals. This determination is the driving factor behind their obsession with working hard. A hustler strives to perfect their craft daily and doesn't flinch when someone tells them their idea is crazy.
An example of the hustler mentality when it comes to hard work can be seen in NFL Linebacker Ray Lewis:
Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath -Michael Caine
Understand Smartwork
A Hustler is not a mule. (See: What is a "mule" in a start-up company?) A hustler believes and recognizes that they have a core advantage over any one else. This advantage is not in their ability to work hard but instead in their ability work smarter. For years, there have been books published and seminars given promoting different methods to persuade and influence people. A common suggestion found in these recommendations includes the idea of "Make 500 sales calls and sell 5 of product X". Meaning, if you're willing to work harder than everyone else you'll have a slight advantage. And by slight, they mean one additional sale. What these guys are missing is something called Smartwork..
Smartwork is the ability to understand the dynamics of a conversation. It's all about frame control and understanding the cues that people give off unconsciously that provide you with an opportunity to control the frame. A Hustler is a lifelong student of Social Dynamics and Negotiation. They enjoy the company of people but enjoy analyzing their interactions so they can become a better communicator. See below for an excellent example of a hustler in action:
Hustlers need to understand how to sell everything from a product to an idea. Joseph Hsieh discloses a variety of ways in his answer that would benefit you in negotiations. Here are a few things I'd add:
- Never Back Track Yourself
- Listen Attentively & Show it
- Leave Arguments for the Playground
- Don't Bluff - This isn't Poker
- When all else fails - "Give'em an offer they can't refuse"
- Be Upfront and Be Blunt.
Love your Hustle
If you are honestly not obsessed with your hustle then you will not achieve hustler status. A hustler loves the product or service they are offering and believes that it is solving an issue for those around them. At the end of the day, to do something well you need to enjoy doing it. Hustlers have found what they enjoy doing and wake up every morning excited to get closer to fulfilling their aspirations and goals.
NOTE: The definition of hustle can be defined in two different ways. The first, is in the traditional sense where it's someone who works hard for what
they do in a legitimate way and the other is one who works hard yet
makes profit by taking advantage of others weaknesses.
John McLear, Open-source, Geekery, Education, Ethe...
42 votes by Akhil Ravidas, Catherine Goodman, Jens Mortensen, (more)
Send me $10 and I will show you how
Venkatesh Rao, Slightly Evil
32 votes by Marc Bodnick, Joey Carmello, Ruixuan Zhang, (more)
It's all about energy. Given a choice of two options, if you grab both, you are a hustler.
There are some medieval Indian folktales about a witty character called Tenali Rama. The story goes that as a kid, a goddess appeared before him, holding a cup of milk in each hand. She offered him a choice: the milk of wealth or the milk of intelligence.
Tenali grabbed and drank both before the goddess could react.
Now that's hustling.
There are some medieval Indian folktales about a witty character called Tenali Rama. The story goes that as a kid, a goddess appeared before him, holding a cup of milk in each hand. She offered him a choice: the milk of wealth or the milk of intelligence.
Tenali grabbed and drank both before the goddess could react.
Now that's hustling.
Joseph Hsieh, Co-Founder, Sometrics
32 votes by Anon User, Gaia Dempsey, Shervin Talieh, (more)
- Never, ever, throw out the first number unless you have enough information to anchor your acceptable price. [1]
- Be confident in all matters (even when you don't know).
- Learn how to be persuasive, 50% is in your body language or tone.
- Hype it up, talk a good game.
- Understand what value you know you can add, and what you can figure out later.
- Solve a problem, ask for reciprocated value.
- Exploit counter-party weaknesses.
- Identify win-win solutions.
- Learn empathy, see it from their point of view.
- Understand that the counterparty needs are not always relevant, but sometimes tangential.
- Learn the difference between features and benefits.
- Feel their pain, solve it.
---
[1] http://hbswk.hbs.edu/arch
Alan Nguyen, http://about.me/alanism
16 votes by Caleb Oki, Gary Stein, Anon User, (more)
If you really want to be street smart, white collar shrewd and know how to make money off others while disregarding ethics or even law...
Bonus -- your calendar should look like Rick Ross's:
- Read and apply Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power (like it's the bible)
- Porter's Five: Doesn't matter if your product is legit or illegal. Know how much you can get away with your suppliers. Know how much weight you can apply on your distributors beneath you. Know who are your competitors are. Is there a new product substitute around?
- Your distribution channel -- know your reach and how frequent? Have a plan to grow it.
- Middle anything -- take a cut on everything.
- Take something whole -- and cut it smaller and sell for more.
- Or take stuff and bundle it to sell for more.
- Make your guys kick up to you... paying tribute, respected is either earned or taken.
- Kick back the guys that make things happen for you... everybody should be in your pocket.
- Understand the other guy's interests, constraints and options -- everything is always negotiable.
- Know when the other guy thinks he'll make more money screwing you over today than working with you long term -- chances are he will screw you over.
- See how a business makes money... break down its step-by-step process and exploit its weakness (loopholes).
- Take bigger risks for bigger returns - go big or go home.
- "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner." - Neil McCauley.
- Always have a exit strategy, escape plan or a get out of jail free card.
- Know when to layer yourself with a lawyer/accountant and when to shut up.
- Make other people money and do favors -- and know when to call and collect on those favors. Learn how to use guilt and obligation to influence behavior.
- Learn how to intimidate someone. Financially or physically. Whoever has might IS right.
- Appeal to people's greed... not sympathy.
- Understand people desires -- people want what they can't have. So they'll pay the premium.
- Time is fuckin' money... if you're not making money - you're wasting time.
Bonus -- your calendar should look like Rick Ross's:
Anon User
3 votes by Judd Weiss, Scott Johnson, and Chandan Gupta
Success and failure, they are separated mainly by those
who try, those who don’t, and all the subtle levels in between. To try
means to move your ass, get out there, and hustle. The whole fucking
world is open to you. Everything you love in this world that nature
didn’t deliver to you was created by a hustler. By those who try. All
the billions of people on this planet, they each need help with almost
every detail of their existence. You can certainly be of value somehow.
That’s what we’re going to focus on a lot here at Hustle Bear.
Hi there, I’m Judd.
http://hustlebear.com/2010/04/03...
via http://www.sebastianmarsh
Colin Dowling, Jack of all trades, master of none.
2 votes by Catherine Goodman and Nene Kalu
Hustlers do all the work that's left to do when they have finished all the work they thought there was to do in the first place.
Vik Duggal, I've been selling something since I w...
1 vote by Willis F Jackson III
Set goals. Be an expert in some element of getting to those goals. Get help where you need it. Set some milestones and go after them hard. Ask for help. Along the way occassionally there will be lame-ass shit to do. Do it. When the right opportunities come along don't pass. Fail a lot and often. Don't repeat the mistakes. Oh, and whatever your trying to accomplish could take a while. Along the way you will think of new goals. Repeat.
Gary Stein, Retired CTO
1 vote by Nicholas Saint
Identify where the hustlers do their business in your city buy their tight-fitting colorful clothing, and stand on that street during the evening rush hours and when the bars close. Pose yourself in a sexually provocative stance and smile at any driver who makes eye contact. The rest should be pretty easy to learn as you go.
The money can be better if you work with a service and you need to be careful about diease of course. Or is that not the kind of hustler you meant?
The money can be better if you work with a service and you need to be careful about diease of course. Or is that not the kind of hustler you meant?
Jonathan Khorsandi, wisdom enthusiast
5 votes by Ian McCullough, Alan Cohen, Adam Rasheed, (more)
send me $5 and I will show you. John McLear.....competing is part of hustling :)
Felix Chan, Founded a lot of companies, failed al...
1 vote by Nai Chng
Read: Influence by Robert Cialdini
Jolissa Hebard
3 votes by Kousa Bazzi, Arun Narasimhan, and Sandeep Coushik
To be a hustler takes passion and nerve. You have to be willing to make a fool of yourself and not care what anyone else thinks. You have to take risks and always pick yourself up when you fall, cause you will fall. You have to see whats around the corner before everybody else does and run with it. You have to know yourself and know that anything is possible. Dream big but also DO big.
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