Here’s an Idea, Chill Out

Life moves fast and if you’re not paying attention, you might just miss it. Thank you, Ferris. This can be true, but I don’t think we need to hustle so much. There is a way to have a more relaxed mind and still do everything you want or need to do, just by being observant, instead of searching relentlessly in some sort of panic mode. I have strongly believed for some time; we have allowed ourselves to be swept up by what happens around us and at the same time never felt less in control. How does that make us any better? When it comes to business, surely it can’t.

Business heavily relies on discipline, decision making, and creativity. One thing has become clear, as soon as you increase the speed in which you try to do these things, they are not done nearly as well as they could have been. We all operate and process things at different speeds. And while some are faster at certain things, remember, they might be cruising comfortably while others are torching their brains to keep up. We can horribly mess ourselves up by prioritizing speed over optimal performance in the face of competition.

The hustle culture looked good to a lot of people. It made it seem like average people willing to risk their health and invest all their time an energy into a thing could come out on top. First of all, none of us are average. So let’s not default to that idea. We become average or worse when we get lazy with our brains.

When are we going to stop looking for ways to succeed without having to put our incredible minds to good use.

There always seems to be some hack to create an outcome people desire without wisdom or critical thinking. Why is it appealing to succeed without daring to be more creative, disciplined, or putting some real thought into what we are trying to achieve.

What makes this even worse is when people go down this path, committing to hustle method, and never discover it’s flaws until much later. After they have exhausted almost every resource they had and sacrificing a lot of what life had to offer during that time.

There are times when we need to act fast, but it seems like we choose to operate in that mode more often than necessary. Sometimes we believe it’s the way, and other times it’s demanded from us. Either way, it’s more stressful and taxing. I used to stay in this mode all the time and it became very unhealthy. I had a job which demanded that I hustle, and when those around me faltered or were not capable. My job demanded that I hustle harder to make up the difference. It consumed more of my time, energy, and mental bandwidth. Naturally I had to hustle in my personal life just so I could have some experiences with my family and friends, within a much smaller window of time. It was soul crushing, wrong, and irresponsible to allow it to continue for too long.

Commerce benefits when you hustle. Just not the way you think it does.

I’ve been in business just over 10 years and there is a trend that has held true during the entire time. When people follow the advice of fail fast, make your mistakes quickly and then try again until you succeed, all it’s really doing in generating income for those pushing the narrative. What if someone gave you that advice when you walked into a casino would you keep gambling away your money. I think most of us would not go along with that strategy. But I’ve seen too many people do it with their entrepreneurial endeavors. The hurried pace of making attempts is not an efficient way of producing quality or something that will last.

You don’t need to post to social media so often as if you are grabbing more attention based off of the sheer amount of noise you are generating. You post when you definitely have something worth sharing. Anything else is just noise is irritating and repelling.

When you have an email list that you should engage, make sure you are taking the time to send them something worth reading. Value is important, especially when they have made their inbox available to you at your discretion.

No need to fail fast. Don’t experiment when you can be much more impactful and dynamic.

Strategy plays a big part in our lives. So true for business of course. But hast and hustle are the enemy of strategic planning. Just ask Chess or Poker players why they take the time needed to make the best possible next move. Internally they are trying to remain as calm and relaxed as possible so they can think and focus on the game properly. When they panic, it usually creates a miscalculation and a loss. Eventually they are out of the game.

It happens in business too. It’s far better to remain calm while you plan your businesses next move, and to have more clarity about the possible outcomes that you can live with, while moving from strength to strength. Calmly, efficiently, and effectively. No extra energy wasted. Less money thrown down the drain. And a more enjoyable experience as an entrepreneur that prevents a self-imposed level of stress that just should not exist.

Hustle if you want. I’ll plan my next strategic move in a more chill state of mind and enjoy every moment of it.