In the early 2000’s, I worked as a senior print designer at a small street-level marketing company. I had a creative director whose catch-phrase was always “work smarter, not harder.” This made a lot of sense to me at the time because I hated my job. Like most people who hate their jobs, the trick is to spend as little time as possible to complete your tasks. “Work smarter, not harder” is the type of advice you get from someone who knows what hardships lay ahead. Someone who knows how to play “the game”. Someone who also hates their job.
I hated hating my job. Being simultaneously satisfied and dissatisfied with each task is a stressful way to go through each day. When I was laid off in May of 2002 thanks to post-9/11 frozen marketing budgets, I vowed to never again hate doing what I love doing. Instead of getting my resume together in hopes of trading an unsatisfying 40-hours-per-week for a crappy paycheck, I resolved to be happy. Working makes me happy. Working hard makes me happy. And you know what? Whoever thinks that smart and hard are opposites is an idiot.
The other day I got the newest issue of INC in the mail. On the cover was a familiar face – Markus Frind. Markus is the founder of Plenty Of Fish, the largest free online dating site in the US. I met him a few years ago when we spoke at the same conference at Stanford. At the time he had over 5 million registered users and was the sole developer, which is still the case only now his user base has grown and he’s hired a couple customer service people. I remember feeling a little put off by Markus’ blase attitude about work when he spoke. In fact, I got the feeling that he had a distinctly detached attitude about his success. After reading the INC article I know not much has changed.
The INC cover boasts that “Markus works one hour a day and makes $10 million a year.” This statement follows a trend that has been making me uneasy for a good long while now. It appears that it’s no longer noteworthy to simply be successful – you have to achieve it with as little effort as possible. Why is hard work no longer news? From the four-day workweek to the four-hour workweek, there recently exists the idea that it’s possible to achieve just as much (if not more) while cutting back on time spent actually working.
My confusion with these concepts is two-fold: (1) if you love what you’re doing, why would you want to do it less? (2) If you don’t love what you’re doing, why not do something else? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not the type of person who is out with friends having a great time and thinks “wow, what I need is to do this less. Much, much less.”
Admittedly, I’m not well versed in some of the examples I’ve given. Tim Ferriss’ book (The Four-Hour Workweek) may truly be a work of genius, but I’ll never know. As long as it’s about working as little as possible and delegating everything downward, I’ll continue to have zero interest. I have gone through his website a little, and I actually talked to him on the phone last year. (On a total side note, I made a point of keeping him on the phone for as long as possible and successfully burned a little over 1/8 of his workweek.) What became very clear to me is that there are two distinct types of entrepreneurs: hustlers and lifestylers.
Lifestylers work as a means to an end. These are the type of people who leave their phone in their hotel room when they go down to the pool. These are the people who don’t check their email at 3am when they get up to use the bathroom. I’m going to assume that Tim Ferriss is a lifestyler. His website has images of people getting massaged, going skiing, slow dancing and flexing biceps. The cover of his book is a silhouette of a hammock between two palm trees. “Escape 9-5, live anwhere, and join the new rich.” Sounds pretty dull. Plus, nouveau riche isn’t a label I’d want to tag myself with.
Me? I’m a hustler (aww, yeah!). I escape 9-5 by working 8 to 8. I work weekends. When I’m not working, I’m thinking about work. Sound bad? Maybe we have different ideas of what work is. Work has no negative connotations to me. It’s equally rewarding as it is inspiring; equally exciting as it is relaxing. I always have my eye on the prize: making things better all the time for our company, for our community and for our customers. It’s not that I have no life, hustlers are expert life-multitaskers. They recognize that ideas or opportunities can arise at any time, and they’re always prepared. Ever seen Gary Vaynerchuk speak or watch WLTV? Hustler. Ever notice how Marc Ecko always has 100 things going on at a time? Hustler. Hustlers work smarter and harder.
The problem I’m finding with the glorification of “look how little they do and how much they’ve made” is this new-wave-work-ethic sets unrealistic expectations to up-and-comers. Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. Being a successful entrepreneur is even less easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. Building a business takes time, strength, struggle, persistence and patience. The key ingredient to all of this is fun. Work is fun. Don’t think so? Do something else. None of this is conducive to “less”.
Ultimately, my point isn’t to try to convince that between hustlers and lifestylers, one is better than the other. You have to be yourself, and you may be more comfortable being one or the other – or neither. It just doesn’t make sense to me that someone can find something they love to do, and then consciously choose to do it less.
65 Comments
Derrick, I imagine than when/if I get married again (heh) and when I have kids, that my schedule will change from 8-8 to something more like 8-5 & 7-10. I’m certainly not advocating side-stepping parental responsibility, but there’s 24 hours in a day. There’s MORE than enough time to spend with your family and also work your ass off.
Brian, I see your point about what Tim is trying to say. My point is more about making the work you love to do the work you get paid for. Personally, I couldn’t be happy if my income generating work was something I needed to “just get done” so I could spend the rest of my time of stuff I liked doing. I also realize that what you’re working on doesn’t always pay the bills. However, I tend to look at that as an interim period until what you love DOES pay the bills. Everyone has the ability to work on what they love and get paid for it. You just have to hustle!
best callmejeffery blog post yet
Really great article Jeffrey. Articulates what I’ve been feeling for a while too.
4 Hour Workweek definitely had a few nuggets of wisdom, but ultimately I felt a complete disconnect from him when it was obvious he didn’t care at all about his work. It was simply a means to an end for him.
Not only is this post a ‘breath-of-fresh-air’ mentality, but it also reeks of the reality of running your own business…or a business that you feel like you own.
I’ve been fortunate to truly love almost every job I’ve ever had. Given that, it was fun to work nights, weekends, overtime…paid or not. I looked at each job as ‘my job/my company’ even when it wasn’t my personal name on the letterhead.
You’re keeping it real. Awesome!
Wow. That was really an interesting read. I am interested in how deep you go into these thoughts of yours. Thanks. As for the 4 Day dude, Sham Wow!
Great article, well thought. I find the one work hour a day claim hard to believe. I have a good friend who started an internet business in 2001 for 4 years straigh he was impossible to get a hold of because he was working 15 hours a day. Now he has minimal work responsiblity, putting in maybe 2 hours a day. Of course if you ask him he always worked only 2 hours a day, but I’m not fooled. I remember his grinding and sacrifice, he certainly paid a price to have a very flexible schedule now and a business that is making recurring revenue for him daily.
You are a rare person – most people want to punch the clock and go home, they lack that little fire inside which pushes them to create and constantly push themselves. Many folks dont want to deal with payroll, hiring and firing, leases, taxes – all the crappy stuff with running your own business – they want to show up, get the company cell phone and laptop and put their 8 to 5 time in then bolt for the door at 5:01.
My wife says I am always working, but I cant remember the last time doing what I do felt like work.
(1) if you love what you’re doing, why would you want to do it less?
The answer to this for me, someone who really loves what he does, is that there are also other things I love to do besides work. I’m not sure if I’m necessarily a lifestyler, I do check my email if I wake up to go to the bathroom at 3am and always have my phone on me, but I have a desire to do all the things I love, including work. Maybe that’s why I like the sunshine sampler so much from Cracker Barrel, even though I love the hashbrown casserole the most, I wouldn’t want to eat just that because the fried apples are pretty damn good too.
I certainly went through a stronger hustle phase earlier in my career and work a little less now than I used to. But it has nothing to do with a declining love for what I do, it’s balancing doing all the things I love to do. I think the flaw in this post for me is the assumption that the desire for anyone to work less must be that they hate what they do.
Jake, it’s a good point. I guess this isn’t so specifically about “less” as it is about “significantly less.” Also, it’s not about the amount of work someone does slowing down naturally over time as “life happens”. It’s more about purposely working less under the assumption that it’s somehow the better solution.
Couldn’t agree more my man. Great post. The distinction between hustlers and lifestylers is right on.
Amazing post. Subscribed.
This is a great post. It’s my first I’ve read, but it’s very true. If there’s a similar product to you out there, you just have to work harder than them.
Jeffrey! Great writing man! You had my attention to the last sentence. I agree with you, I like my work. I like solving problems and being challenged. I like to hustle. It’s fulfilling.
I appreciate your sober contrast to the many blogs offering fun in the sun, cash-money baby attititudes.
I’ll be back to your blog for sure. Btw…Garyvee tweeted this post. that’s how i found you. I’ll be re-tweeting as well. Laters…
Jared
http://www.fireandmotionblog.com
http://www.twitter.com/jlyda
It’s about time someone said it right. I’ve been a huge proponent of hard work and people just don’t get it. They always say, “you need to live your life,” but they don’t understand. They don’t understand that when you love what you do, you want to keep doing it.
Good Stuff Jeffrey.
I read your description of how you see “work” and I saw myself. Interestingly, I’ve had a load of people ask me how I got to work with Google, or Techcrunch, or founding a company in a weird country and still make money. My answer has always been “I believe anyone can do what I have done”, but now I’ll add “I guess some people just try harder”.
You rock, Jeffrey.
PS: Man, I haven’t seen an upso post since YH years ago.
Just like you can (and perhaps should) work harder AND smarter, I think hustling can be the lifestyle you design. The 4 hour work week isn’t about making a 4 hour work week. It’s about doing the minimal amount of work possible so you can focus the rest of your time on what it is you like to do. If what you like to do is hustling… well you do the math. :)
I = hustyler. :D
I started the rumor about Lil Bow Wow getting raped.
That’s a brilliant post. Thank you!
Agreed you need to love what you do and avoid what you don’t – in order to be passionate about your job/career/product – and success will follow. Who is more passionate than Gary V?
However, achieving more with less effort is a production efficiency which is desired by all businesses.
I don’t agree with the zero-sum game idea that if you spend as little time as possible on your work that your deep-seated feeling is that you hate what you do. As Jake says, there are lots of other things to love other than your work – which also need your time.
I think post masterfully articulates what those of us that think of ourselves as “hustlers” consistently feel. The reason I work on my own stuff for 3+ hours every night when I get home from work is because I believe in it. Certainly, at some point you’d like to have the luxury of taking a vacation, spending more time with your family, etc. but while I’m young and single you can bet I’m going to be hustling, not as a means to an end, but because the work I’m doing matters, at least to me!
“If you don’t love what you’re doing, why not do something else?”
Sadly, there isn’t anyone wiling to pay me a living wage to do what I *love* doing – so unfortunately, I have to do what I can get paid to do to support my family.
Good article nonetheless :)
This is a great article Jeff and like other commenters mentioned, that it’s essentially the more realistic truth of entrepreneurship.
In regards to Tim Ferris, though, I remember him tackling this type of question and a lot of it has to do with what one defines as “work.” He defines work as things you _need_ to do but aren’t as enjoyable. Like, say, taxes. Definitely a part of work, a reality that everyone has to go through, that isn’t necessarily “fun” for everyone.
I think Tim, based on the stuff he ends up doing and writing about, works almost as hard and as long as other “hustlers” but he doesn’t define it as work. Some people might find it exhausting traveling the world on a split second, writing revealing articles, doing interviews… wait, isn’t that an investigative journalist? We just don’t consider it work for Tim because he loves what he does and he’s converted that to “hobby.” Hobby=fun. Also, unlike a journalist, he’s not confined directly to an editor or forced to be objective.
Maybe this is a battle of definitions here. How does one define work and one define play?
Good sound and if you know it or not this is in part what GOD did.Six days thou shalt work and on the seven day rest. For in six days GOD created the heavens and the earth and all that is therein. He set the example created man and put him in a garden (where he was to work the ground). Man who doesn’t work ought not to eat. Great concept for many on well fare? http://adjix.com/ktb
This is a great article Jeff and like other commenters mentioned, that it’s essentially the more realistic truth of entrepreneurship.
In regards to Tim Ferris, though, I remember him tackling this type of question and a lot of it has to do with what one defines as “work.” He defines work as things you _need_ to do but aren’t as enjoyable. Like, say, taxes. Definitely a part of work, a reality that everyone has to go through, that isn’t necessarily “fun” for everyone.
I think Tim, based on the stuff he ends up doing and writing about, works almost as hard and as long as other “hustlers” but he doesn’t define it as work. Some people might find it exhausting traveling the world on a split second, writing revealing articles, doing interviews… wait, isn’t that an investigative journalist? We just don’t consider it work for Tim because he loves what he does and he’s converted that to “hobby.” Hobby=fun. I’ve read his book and he doesn’t discourage effort, he just encourages smarter ways to direct that effort.
Maybe this is a battle of definitions here. How does one define work and one define play?
All I can say is this post is SPOT ON.
Very nice and refreshing read, I am so tired of hearing how many people are working less and less…
I am all for the hustle!! Long live hustle.
Great post – I notice that when I’m doing something that I really love, it doesn’t feel at all like work. In fact, I’m willing to give up sleeping, eating, and having fun – because I love it! “Everyday I’m Hustlin!”
Great post, Jeff. If don’t love what you’re doing enough to give it more than four hours a week, then do something else. Smarter and harder are not mutually exclusive.
I think people are missing the point. When you are doing something you love, its no longer work. Therefore time no longer matters.
We have a real problem in that we equate time spent to equal production or value.
Time has no value, output does, and if that output is enjoyment, why wouldnt you spend as much time in a state of enjoyment?
I hate the word work. It has become as bad as the word fuck. Neither has an evil meaning at its base, just the perception of evil.
“Do whatcha like, unless you like gang bangin’.” Best advice Digital Underground ever gave. Live my life by it (although the second half of that line, depending on context, I might actually have a slight bone to pick).
This is exactly the inspiration I needed. Thank You! I’m a hustler baby!
I’m mixed with this post only in that going to any extreme is concerning. Hustle is important as long as we don’t lose sight of other important activities. Too often we sacrafice family time to get ahead. Not surprisingly those that achieve ultimate success in business fail in their family obligations.
I agree that you should do what you love, only that you should also determine how much you want to do it. Never lose sight of the big picture. Work, no matter how much we love it is only part of the equation to true happiness…for most people!
This is exactly the inspiration I needed. Thank You! I’m a hustler baby!
Love, love, love this post. If you love what you do, you will never have to “work” a day in your life. Work is just part of my day. It is not something I “Have” to do. It is my hobby. I do it on weekends and even on “vacation”. Hardcore Hustler!
Wow, my first time to your blog and an excellent post to my reading pleasure. I couldn’t agree with you more. I work just like you do because I love it…
Lifestylers work very hard – at keeping what they love – pure.
Hustlers work very hard – at keeping what they love – profitable.
I am a classically trained artist. I love to design master artwork. When I was younger my father said to me … you have a choice.
1. Get a job for money so so you can paint what you want.
2. Paint for money – which is painting what others want.
Saying that… I understand the pie-in-the-sky sales pitch that people are sold is BS. You will always work and work hard … the question than for example in my case is… Do I paint for the sake of art? or do I paint for the sake of money? – I chose Art… you may chose Money – both are good if it is honest to you. No matter which one you pick… you will work hard.
All I can say is this post is SPOT ON.
Very nice and refreshing read, I am so tired of hearing how many people are working less and less…
I am all for the hustle!! Long live hustle.
Great to hear you voice your views without disclaimer or apologetic hesitation.
I wonder if at some point hustlers morph into lifestylers because they’ve achieved what they were hustling for. The nature-nurture debate comes to mind. Is this type of personality something you’re born with or is it cultivated by our media and culture? I think it’s a little of both, as personality is one of the most stable and unchanging aspects of each of us. It’s the notion of reaching for the brass ring that we’re nurtured into. I wonder if you, an example of a full-on hustler, will at some point become a lifestyler, or at least adopt some lifestlyer habits.
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Nice post.
Great perspective. Great clarity. Subscribed. I also like Jake’s points.
@Vargas Hustlers don’t just do it for the money. To keep yourself infatuated with a business or career for more than 12 hours a day takes a lot more than money. You need to love what you’re doing. You need to love it so much that its not work.
In the case of art, just because you paint for yourself, it doesn’t mean you don’t hustle. It means that you hustle at making yourself happy and you paint what you want.
Lifestyle artists are people who think they can do just as good as a job as a hustler. When it is just not the case.
If you’re a hustlers, hopefully one day you have the opportunity to become a lifestylers. Great article. Thanks!
great piece. really. except one thing. i am both a hustler and a lifestyler. my business partner is more about lifestyle but not because he wants to be nouveau riche, but so has plenty of time to go fishing.
I love my work but I also love my family. I don’t know if you have a kid, but that might adjust your tolerance for 8-8 workdays.
finally the funny semantic thing about Ferris is that according to his accounting, blogging isn’t working! because its fun! that is- mr ferris is definitely a hustler. works. his. arse. off.
great piece. really. except one thing. i am both a hustler and a lifestyler. my business partner is more about lifestyle but not because he wants to be nouveau riche, but so has plenty of time to go fishing.
I love my work but I also love my family. I don’t know if you have a kid, but that might adjust your tolerance for 8-8 workdays.
finally the funny semantic thing about Ferris is that according to his accounting, blogging isn’t working! because its fun! that is- mr ferris is definitely a hustler. works. his. arse. off.
kudos x2. totally agree, I always tell my people work harder at being smarter…. for every time saver you find, you have more time to reinvest! I enjoy the process of my work and though I have the mental ability to vacation like a pro, I can hardly wait to jump back in by the time we’re on our way home. I need a (drama free) challenge like I need coffee… without it everything feels off-kilter!
exposing email addresses like this is not ideal. its fine to ask for them, but its unusual and suboptimal to make them public like this. just sayin’
You know, you’re right. Honestly, I’m not sure why that’s happening. This blog is begging for a revision anyway…
I think there is an important difference between work and income generation. I think as a culture we spend too many hours of our lives generating income. When making a living is the reason you choose this “work” over that “work”, that’s when you get unhappy. We all all to make enough money to support ourselves and our families but why should we spend the best hours of the majority of our making day, most of every week doing that.
The idea of the four-day or four-hour workweek is appealing the to mass who lives in the 9-5 and has no choices. Jeffrey, you’re an entrepreneur – not an employee. Your passion for what you do is tied to your vesting in the company. The company is you, in part, and reflects you. It’s success = your success. The typical employee is never going to reach that level of commitment, or buy-in to a company. So that guy even if he loves his job, will never love it like you do – especially because as some level it is always what he has to do to live.
I don’t think most people want to or even would work 1 hour a day. It’s just that once you have some financial independence what you work on doesn’t always have to be about income. So then work takes on different meanings. It could be art, or fixing up your house, your volunteering. And I suspect we’d all find many hours a day for those tasks.
The appeal of working less is about choice and freedom. Freedom to not devote one’s efforts only to making a living, but actually living. You seem to have reached a place where you can do that. Some of us are still trying to get there.
Hey Jeffrey,
Good points but I think you missed an important distinction: what you love working on doesn’t always pay the bills!
I think the four hour work week’s point is not to do less work (as Tim has often pointed out) – it is to put your INCOME generating activity on autopilot so that you have the time and freedom to do the “work” you really love.
I suppose some people are lucky enough that their true passion in life happens to be highly compensated – but lets be honest, how many people would keep going to their jobs if they suddenly became multi-millionaires?
To book is for people like that, and it probably should have been called “how to get your income generating work done in 4 hours each week so you can work on what you really care about” – but it’s not as catchy.
Hope that help! I agree with you though that hard work on something you LOVE (hustling) is still something to be admired.
Brian
http://www.StartBreakingFree.com
Thx now I know I’m a Hustler!
What you’re describing is either dual-income-no-kids or a single person. Career driven, motivated with the blinders focusing on ‘forward’.
Except when you’re working at 8 PM every night and your child is going “where is daddy?”
Where do the rest of us fit in?
There is a large pool of people, we’ll call them married with children, that have to find a better balance than work all day and think about work at night. We have to be able to turn it off, be with the family, and turn it on again later.
For those of us in this situation, we have to build a balanced schedule and try to keep with that schedule. That might mean “taking off” between 5pm and 9pm and then squeezing in a few hours before bed.
People like me have to be a bit more patient, a bit more “smart” about how we work harder.
Sure, there is a difference between a person that works their butt off in a no-so-fun job for 60 hours a week and one that’s doing what they love for the same amount of time.
But, as a father of a five year old and a three year old there is also survival. Doing what I love as a 29 year old single guy would mean I could cut corners and work for less because it’s what I love to do. Maybe live on noodles and mac and cheese as I start up my business.
Than, there are those of us (again, like myself) that have a job we don’t completely love anymore but require that salary to keep food on the table. Doing my own thing would cut my salary a lot (mainly because I’m good at what I do even if it’s not the most fun job in the world).
The side of life you speak of is either the “no kids” kind of lifestyle or the father who never sees his family lifestyle.
Work smarter and work with passion until you can find a way to make a living at it and support your family.
OK You like/love your job and I think Chicago is a great city, but whatever it is you are doing there would be much more enjoyable if you did it in half the time and spent the other half say on the beach.
I’ve found myself checking email at 3:00 am, but that replaced the time I would have done it when I got to work and not in addition to my business email readinig time.
Working “productively” for 12hrs a day is not humanly possible, and if you’re not being productive, go to the beach. As Dirty Harry said, “Man has got to know his limitations.”
May I suggest the book “Fire Your Boss”.
I agree that you have to do something you love. Passion is the name of the game.
It’s that old quote… Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
I dig your point, but i would also suggest that you take a look at this study in productivity:
http://lostgarden.com/Rules%20of%20Productivity.pdf
Basically, it argues that too much hustling in the short term will lead to too little hustling in the long term. I love programming to death, but there are times when pushing harder just won’t do… Getting diversified experiences and maintaining a healthy life outside of your work will help you produce much more efficiently.
http://www.huyng.com
The only way being successful is easy is if you love what you’re doing so much that the hard work you’re dong is fun. You can’t be successful at anything but goofing off at 1 hour a day, and why would you want anyone to think you could?
“I escape 9-5 by working 8 to 8. I work weekends. When I’m not working, I’m thinking about work. Sound bad?” Not at all. In fact a term has coined in honour of such people: “workafrolics” :)
Jeffrey, I agree, you can still work your ass off and have kids, I do. My wife also does as a stay at home mommy, blogger, video editor for our video show, etc. Really, we just hope for success more than just work for the love of it, figuring if you love it you’ll eventually make a success of it. Or, at least that’s the theory :-)
Great post, Jeffrey. For me, it’s all about what makes you happy. If work makes you happy, work like crazy. If it doesn’t, do everything you can to avoid it. I don’t think Markus’s lifestyle would make everybody happy
So what you are saying basically is you live to work.
I think it’s a bit sad, there is so other things to discover outside of your domain, outside of your work.
Enjoy your work, but work to live, you’ll discover an other way of life by turning off your phone sometimes.
Hustlers work maybe harder but you are smart if you have the idea to turn off your work brain and try something else !
So what you are saying basically is you live to work.
I think it’s a bit sad, there is so other things to discover outside of your domain, outside of your work.
Enjoy your work, but work to live, you’ll discover an other way of life by turning off your phone sometimes.
Hustlers work maybe harder but you are smart if you have the idea to turn off your work brain and try something else !
So what you are saying basically is you live to work.
I think it’s a bit sad, there is so other things to discover outside of your domain, outside of your work.
Enjoy your work, but work to live, you’ll discover an other way of life by turning off your phone sometimes.
Hustlers work maybe harder but you are smart if you have the idea to turn off your work brain and try something else !
So what you are saying basically is you live to work.
I think it’s a bit sad, there is so other things to discover outside of your domain, outside of your work.
Enjoy your work, but work to live, you’ll discover an other way of life by turning off your phone sometimes.
Hustlers work maybe harder but you are smart if you have the idea to turn off your work brain and try something else !
“When I’m not working, I think about work”
Wow, you’re brave. But when I’m not working I think about stuff I’m not working on but on the ones that would make my job more productive. I guess that’s what you meant.
great article
It’s not a bad article, not everything is useless. Much useful. However, keeping options open is the way to go. Paul Lucas is right.
I’ve lost the citation, but I remember a quote from a principal in an ad agency saying that his work was more fun than fun. One of my first bosses was asked by one of his former direct reports if he’d ever felt like not coming to work. (She and I were suffering through a short-lived new boss.) The boss thought for a few seconds and replied, there were a few days, but not many. He’d worked there for about 20 years. It’s a great if you’re able to say the same.
Paul Lucas – I understand your point completely, only I’m not sure you understand mine. My work isn’t “work.” It’s not like I don’t have a social life, get to travel, spend time with family, etc. The point is about not “shutting it off” just because. Some people feel like they need to completely separate their work time and their personal time. I don’t. Keep in mind that I also spend some of my work time thinking about personal things. For me it’s not about having my life being these separate pieces that need their own time. I realize that it’s not for everyone – but then this post isn’t supposed to be gospel, it’s just my opinion :)
Great post that I found only now. As an entrepreneur I can empathise with what you write. I see the whole “look-how-successful-I-am-in-this-little-time”-movement is completely contradictory at a base level. I really can only apply to people who do something they hate. Then it is a good thing of course.
If you love what you’re doing – 24 hrs is not enough. You dream about your passion. Of course you need balance with other things and you can fit all that in as well. For me the absolute bulk of my work is done in the business hours window. -ish… and outside of those hours I thin-slice work inbetween a lot of other non-work stuff. But it is pull not push. I am not chased by anything or anyone but my passion for what I do.
I am in the process of writing a book on business sense and entrepreneurship. I’ll link to your article there since it fits right in with my theme of the book.
Thanks again for a great and inspiring post. Love the ending – find your style, be yourself.
The whole “work an hour a day make 10 mil/year” thing is really not a realistic idea for 99.99999999% of entrepreneurs…you’d have better luck winning the lottery than pulling that off.
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