Real talk: Is HUSTLE a bad word?

I was recently interviewed on Basic Girl Marketing with Danielle Cevallos and she caught me off guard with the question:

>>“Recently there has been a demonization of the word hustle… What does hustle mean to you?”<<

Y’all, I told Danielle exactly how I feel… Maybe a little TOO much how I feel, you know what I’m sayin’?

I told her that the people that preach the most about finding the right balance and re-assigning how much you should hustle are often those who worked extremely hard and were met with success.

Then later, in an ivory tower wearing rose-colored glasses, these are the same people who say, “Everyone needs to find balance.”

When I hear that, I think, “Easy for you to say.”

*I mean, there’s a reason why you are successful, bro!*

Do I agree there should be some sort of balance? Of course. I do not advise anyone to sacrifice their health, family, or wellbeing for their work.

But I will not ever make it look like I’m having a 4 hour work week!

>>I still show up for my business 13 years in even MORE than I did my first year.<<

Now my friend, here’s the caveat: I will take a very hard issue when someone is only hustling for metrics and end results.

Recently I spoke at an Amazon Resellers event with 3,000 attendees, and afterwards there was a line of people to chat with me.

There, I met this man who told me, “Jasmine, I’m really passionate about selling sports gear to raising money for children with special needs.” I heard that and I said that is AMAZING!

But he said, “You don’t understand—people don’t buy basketballs as much as they do meat thermometers. So I’m selling meat thermometers.”

Ohhhh, I wouldn’t let this man LEAVE until he understood this: **When you’re just hustling for meat thermometers and metrics, you’re banging your head against a wall!**

>>Hustle is so much more of a bad word when you’re hustling for something you are not passionate about than when you’re hustling for what lights you up.<<

Listen, I understand why people raise a pitchfork against the idea of “hustle”…I really do.

But when you love what you do, you drive farther, wake up earlier, and do whatever it takes to build your dreams. Why? Because you see a future where nobody else sees.

I won’t tell you whether you should or shouldn’t hustle, but I will encourage you to continue to love what you do and remain steadfast in your pursuit.

I don’t need a work-life balance if I love what I do… It’s called a life-LOVE balance.

J* out. 😉