Say Hello to Your New Friends: The Grind, the Suck and The Hustle

emp

emp

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This video was posted on another forum just recently. If you haven’t done so, watch it. This is 15 minutes of pure motivational awesome for anyone looking to make it online.

But, one section stuck with me:
If you want to do something, you have to love the process, because process is what you’ll be doing all the time.

The “make money online” world lures a lot of people in by the promise of the result. And who wouldn’t like the result?

Working from home, generating passive income while actively pursuing new income streams. The dream of a huge income. The dream of being a self-made entrepreneur. All these are valid and good and worthy goals to pursue.

But that outcome is not what you will be doing to arrive there.

What you will be doing is the Grind.

You will meet it in everything you do.

Working online, you are in a great position, as there are so many avenues to pursue. Video blogging, writing content, testing, domain flipping, PPC, you name it. But all will turn into the grind.

Like doing a video review?
Try making 50 of them, sitting in front of the camera for days on end.

Like writing?
Write 100 articles, and knowing that there are 100 more to be done.

Like A/B testing?
Do it every day, year in, year out, until you dream in MS Excel.

The Grind
Meet your new friend number one.

Want to know how to kill a passion? Get paid for it.

This works with anything. So before you decide to follow the mantra of “turn your passion into money” take a long, hard look at what you are getting into.

Love playing video games?
Guess what, making a web site on video games is a different beast. Leaving aside the hassle of dealing with the publishers, trolls in the comments, etc..​

Simply having to write 20 reviews per month (I am lowballing you here) is going to turn this into the grind.​

Play a game?
Maybe a few hours, taking screenshots and videos while you are at it, dictating notes and writing them down at the same time.

Then it is writing time.

Doesn’t sound like the video gaming you like so much? That’s what I thought.

So you better love writing reviews or the grind is going to turn you into oatmeal.​

But yes, you decide that you really want to do this. You love writing for, the web, you love copy-editing, you love the whole process.

Then you look at your site after a few months and you realize: it sucks.

Meet the second one of your new best friends.

The Suck
Sorry, but there is no easy way out of this. You will realize that your work is not up to the standard you want to set. You started with a picture in your mind on how to do things better, on how to stand out, of how quality should look like.

And then it dawns on you: It’s not that easy.

The good news is: You realize all this, because you are passionate about it, because you have an idea of how it should be.

The bad news is: You have to work your way through that valley of tears until you come out on the other end, ready to climb the mountain to quality.

But what to do?

The Solution: Hustle
Meet the only force available to help against the evil twins: the Hustle.
dream+is+free+but+the+hustle+is+sold+separately.jpg

You will meet the Grind and the Suck whatever you do. The only remedy is relentless, aggressive, hard work, day in and day out.
Also known as: the Hustle.

It helps to be stubborn, too.

And you know what is weird? Once you accept this, there is joy in doing this.
Aggressive, hard work, pushing your limits, every day.

And the best: There is a reward.

A guy I chat with started his own site on mobile phones. Fiercely competitive niche, and at first thought, no chance in hell.

Fast forward to now – he supports not only himself and his family but three employees as well with that site.

How did he do it?

Keep in mind, he started the site from scratch.

He got a fresh domain, a wordpress theme, bought a logo and went to town.

For the first months, he was doing this thing solo. He literally wrote 400 articles in the first three months. He bootstrapped the forum on his site and hustled, hustled, hustled.

Of course the thing has evolved, with writers taken on board, and users filling the forum with content… but I know the guy is still hustling hard.

What does this mean for you?
You will get there, but only of you persist.

Looking at your articles makes you cringe?
Doesn’t matter, you know you can be better. You set your sight on the price and you’ll make it.

Your writing sucks?
Write more, get better.

Your site design hurts the eyes? Improve it.

So you whine at doing 100 articles?
Write 120, and then some.

You cringe because you have to edit, crop, describe and post 200 images?
Do 300 instead and then decide to do 50 more.

Nice thing about sheer stubbornness is that it is friends with the Hustle.

Take that synergy and ride it.

Hustle!

::emp::

In the interest of full diclosure: This is my article and was poublished on a (now defunct) blog a while ago. I reworked it for this forum.
 
Sorry EMP, but I think he is a sanctimonious wanker. Give me the story of how his parents (probably) started a business from nothing and turned it into a two million dollar a year enterprise. Not some smug, self righteous guy who had money to take risks in the first place.

I didn't read the rest because you lost me with the video.
 
As for Vaynerchuck, I don't know, just liked the vibe (not knowing any background)

Rest of the article is not about him, tho. I could as well take the vid down.

::emp::
 
Great post emp.

"Want to know how to kill a passion? Get paid for it."

This is a controversial one. Sure it can be true but there is more to it. If someone is really passionate about his subject matter, he will find it easy to write 100s of articles, make 100s of vids etc. If however, that person find it hard to do those things then it will become a natural selection. He/she will most likely quite (because it's too bring...). I think the best way to go about it is to ask yourself one simple question: What problems can I solve that others are struggling with? And then ask yourself and answer very honestly: Am I competent in that area?
Sure, I realize this is a very idealistic point of view but, I believe it's necessary to make a long term relationship with clients or customers (however, it's not necessary to make a big and quick $).

Anyway, I love Gary, he is probably the best positive badass out there. Also, thanks for this video because it gave me an idea about the app for one of my projects that is just about to launch in a few days.
 
emp said:
As for Vaynerchuck, I don't know, just liked the vibe (not knowing any background)

Rest of the article is not about him, tho. I could as well take the vid down.

::emp::
Click to expand...

I'll come back and read the rest another time EMP, he just wasn't my cup of tea. Other people may think he's the best thing since sliced bread, so leave it. :smile:

I know your stuff is always good.
 
Here is some story about Gary's parents business and his way http://www.shopify.com/blog/4072192-how-gary-vaynerchuk-built-his-empire

I don't find anything strange about it (marketing is marketing right?). Knowing some immigrants from eastern Europe (at that time Warsaw block) I can't see anything dishonest in Gary's statements. Also, I found him very positive. He did his job well and he still is doing it well. I remember when he wasn't that very well known and his vids from back then and he was guest at Tim Ferris blog (yeah I know... Tim Ferris). Still, those people have some proven accomplishments in the record.
 
I dig the message.

But I'm also with LearningCurve, I f'in hate Gary V. Wanker for sure. Turns me off from his stuff, which sucks as I know he has some solid messages in there.
 
Well, I guess it's just the way it is isn't it? (And that's cool...)
Anyway, I like your post and especially Gary's vid. It suites well your message. One don't need to like Gary, because that post isn't about Gary... So...
 
@emp Great article. I didn't get a chance to read the video, but I agree with everything you said. No one will make it w/o the Hustle/Grind and realizing that the Suck. It'll only make you better realizing that you suck, and quite frankly, it should motivate you. Holding yourself in high regard will only hinder progress, but the constant struggle to turn the Grind/Hustle into something worthwhile should further motivate you. I find keeping a humble attitude knowing there is always room for improvement helps you grow and motivate you to work that much more to accomplish your goals.
 
I'm down with some Gary V talks, I can see how he rubs people the wrong way tho for sure but to deny his success because his parents owned a business is kind of missing the point. Not everyone starts at the same position, but what matters is what you do afterwards. The people who have absolutely killed it in your industry are worth listening to, whether you like them or not you'll get something out of it imo.

Great post emp, thanks for taking the time.
 
@emp hilariously enough, I've seen enough Gary V that I skipped that and just read your post.
GREAT post dude. I assume you have great copy writing skills, because that shit was just a pleasure to read. And of course, all great points.

As to Gary V. I like him. Like @MetaData said he does have a strong personality and can easily rub people wrong... but I've liked him for a long time from watching Wine Library TV. The dude pours SO MUCH energy into everything he does. Based on the personal anecdotes about shilling baseball cards, and the energy I see him put into videos about wine, I truly believe that man has more pure hustle than most anyone.

Did he leverage an already successful wine business his parents had? - Absolutely.
Can a lot of what he says come off bland to the net educated BOSU folks? - Of course.

Will he also share incredible energy, a positive attitude, and excitement for the hustle!!! - YUP.
 
Another version of the enemies is The Wait.

He is the overlord, the supervising agency watching and biding his time before he rewards you with the fruits of your effort.

He knows you're used to working a week and getting paid for that week right after, creating that habit/routine/reward cycle someone else mentioned. He's testing you... seeing if you can put in a year or even two years before earning a single dime. Then he'll become your best friend and bless you with abundance, if and only if you navigated the waters correctly without sabotaging yourself along the way.

He is the guardian at the threshold, the flaming sword at the entrance to Eden. Will you persist through The Grind, The Suck, and The Hustle? Will you allow The Wait to drop his death's cloak and reveal his true nature?

Great post, Emp!
 
Great message and one of self-development. I think when we stop trying to grow as an individual we die as an individual.

I sure know where my strengths are when it comes to what I love doing and I equally know that I can improve those strengths. Someone else out there knows what I don't and it doesn't sit well with my competitive side.

Also you're totally right... If you don't put in the hard work you'll never get to where you want to be.

Dr. Schwarzenegger Rules of Success:

Rule 1 - TRUST YOURSELF

“...dig deep down, dig deep down and ask yourselves, who do you want to be? Not what, but WHO!"

"...I’m talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be, but you."

"...figuring out for yourselves what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to other people.”

Rule 2 - BREAK THE RULES

"I say break the rules. Not the law, but break the rules."

"You have to think outside the box."

"....what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?"

"The only way that I ever got any place was by breaking some of the rules"



Rule 3 - DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL

"Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail."

"...you can’t always win, but don’t afraid of making decisions."

"You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. "

"You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail!"

Rule 4 - DON'T LISTEN TO THE NAYSAYERS

"How many times have you heard that you can’t do this and you can’t do that and it’s never been done before?"

"...I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before, because then when I do it that means that I’m the first one that has done it."

"...pay no attention to the people that say it can’t be done!"

" I always listen to myself and say, “YES, YOU CAN!.” "


Rule 5 - WORK YOUR BUT OFF

"I always believed leaving no stone unturned."

"That’s the way it is with everything: No pain, no gain."

"... it is important to have fun in life, of course, but when you’re out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning."

"...if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work."



Rule 6 - GIVE BACK

"... you must always find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country."

"...reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else you have ever done."
 
Grind + Suck = Procrastination, stay away from that, additional notes:

- Don't play with time it always will win in the fight.
- Craziness leads to creativity, some times to a mental hospital lol!
- Love what you do, or you will just do it for the sake of money, which is a slow death to your efforts.
- Have a meaning in you journey, if you don't have that I guess go get a nine to five job.
- Thinking logically to overcome problems, sometimes it doesn't work if you didn't mixed it with emotion. (Emotions enforce sometimes our decision may also weakness them)
- Divide et impera (Divide and conquer) !
- Outsourcing isn't a new thing it was invented before currency age ( a monetary system) !
 
First off, hating on Gary, you people clearly don't have any serious focus. You are getting caught up in personal feelings about a person rather then take the lesson away from the video. You shouldn't automatically negate anyone that you disagree with or hate. The comments about his parent's owning a business is completely missing the point. How many people whose parents own business have not gone on to do great things and in fact completely drove the business into the ground? How many people do you see rising above their parent's status? That's very difficult to do - the only person I've studied in history that was able to overshadow his successful father was Alexander the Great. Imagine Bill Gate's kids coming up - how can they possibly live to that expectation? They can if they have sheer hustle.

To gain more power for an individual, you should "think like your enemy". Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself why it is they are creating that message or doing that thing you dislike. From there, if you hate a person that's even a more raw emotion then love. Love can fade, hate - burns long after love is gone. Love can turn into hate, but for you guys to be seriously worried about "Gary" in this message is completely baffling.

I wrote a thread at a blackhat forum about "Adjusting your mirrors" - you guys need to adjust your mirrors to the important thing, the overall message.

--

Miyamoto Musashi has some great quotes in The Book of Five Rings which go along with this message. The problem is when people read books like "The Art of War", "The Prince", or Miyamoto's they don't see past the trees. The overall lesson in the book of Five Rings is NOT about the way and life of a ronin samurai, but how to conduct one's life. There are lessons in every story in these ancient books, but you have to take a god over view of the situations and see how you can apply the lessons learned in the story to your own daily living. Think like a God, as if you are looking down on the world and looking at whatever situation you are in with detachment and you'll start to see the problems in most of your views of the way to live.

Here are lessons that emp's post echoes perfectly with Miyamoto:

"Step by step, walk the thousand mile road" - The only way to get to any journey is with the first step, wasting time on forums (Not BuSo obviously), Skype chats, and talking about plans isn't a step in the journey, no matter how much you try to convince yourself. The first step is literally a first step, and then continuing on your way. Something magical will happen once you begin a serious journey... I can't explain it - but everything changes all around you.

"It may seem difficult at first, but all things are difficult at first" - Every single thing you've done in your life was difficult at first. So stop complaining and dive in. The problem is when you get older and older, you get stuck in your ways, and don't want the world around you to change, hence why people become dependent or addicted to habits they've formed. You have to keep pushing your limits even if it's difficult.

Running my first business with employees was difficult, second time around it was a walk in the park. Creating my first SEO campaign was difficult. Creating my first website was difficult, editing my first video was difficult, programming my first application was difficult. My original forum threads and writing was completely shit and difficult. I didn't even spell check, grammar check, or proof read anything I wrote. After I posted something I would come back and re-read it, and thought to myself - Am I retarded? 80% wasn't even proper english.

Hell way back in the day getting online in 1995 was difficult, I remember Windows 95 was having difficulty downloading the IE browser, so all I was stuck with was AOL. Driving a car for the first time was difficult, so was riding a bike. Learning a new language was difficult, in fact, your very first language when you are a baby was the most difficult thing your brain could do - you couldn't rely on ANYONE else to "give you information" on how to communicate since you couldn't communicate back. But slowly and surely you figured it out, and said your first words.

Walking for the first time in your life was probably the 2nd most difficult thing you've done behind talking, cause it required you to have full control of your body, all muscles working in sync. Now a days, getting up from the couch to get something to eat from the fridge is taken for granted, but the difficulty was real - so with that in mind, knowing that the most difficult parts of your existence have already been lived, and the only reason you got through them was because of sheer will and determination BY YOURSELF, learning something new shouldn't be a problem for anyone with the whole of humanity's knowledge at the click of a key on a keyboard for all those who are able to read my words.

--

"You must train morning and evening for 1000s of hours, polishing ones skill by becoming free from self and then realize extraordinary ability..." - This one is not for the lazy. If you want to be great at something, even if you have natural ability, you still have to train for thousands of hours until you've perfected that skill and it becomes second nature.

Whether it's playing basketball, football, or writing code - only after you've done something for at least 1000 hours, can you say you are truly prolific in it. And if you don't have natural ability, that's just even more of a challenge, but as long as you have a brain and WANT to put in the work to master something, you can. Look at that 1 year old version of you, they conquered thought and communication out of a void - Imagine how you think today, it's in pure words and sounds, and images - that 1 year old had no "words" in their brain, yet out of nothingness, pure void, they were able to grasp consciousness and develop communications. Surely you can figure out how to install a wordpress install or get past something a little less difficult with the tools such as "Google" and your keyboard, you actually have access to everything you need right in front of you for your hustle.

--

"Today is victory over yourself of yesterday. Tomorrow is victory over lesser men." - With every step forward, you are essentially conquering yourself of yesterday. If you were to battle the yesteryears of you, you should be able to defeat yourself in mind, spirit, and body.

Miyamoto Musashi stopped seeking fights after the age of 30 since he was essentially invincible. Only then is when he decided to start training and perfect his skill - he stated it was natural ability that led him to his undefeated records, not the way. He even stopped using real swords and just started using wooden swords even when other opponents had real swords against him - and yet he defeated them, and killed some.

The lesson is simple - if you keep grinding and hustling at something you want - it's impossible for you not to attain it, unless you really don't want it.

@emp - great post btw, I never thought about "the suck" too much before, but it's real.
 
@CCarter Miyamoto Musashi also finished his book which it took him years to craft and make it a fabulous book and a priceless stream of wisdom. In total 50 years of concentration, wisdom, patient, self conduct, self esteem and a journey of perfection.

He finished his book the same year he died 61 years of a legend.
 
learningcurve said:
That's a pretty big fucking blanket statement. You must know every minute detail of eveyone's life, apparently. I'm outta here.
Click to expand...

I think you missed the whole point - my first sentence was a mimic of emp's first content - the video - Emotionally charged to get a reaction. Sorry, but based on your own statement and patterns you take the first sentence/paragraph/instance of a thread/post then make a drastic judgement, then leave or don't bother to read the rest. You've already done it twice in this thread - so imagine how much knowledge or learning you've missed from people that you disagree with?

You are too emotionally charged for a simple online debate - could have gone several ways, but walking away doesn't alleviate your frustration with me or anyone on the opposite side; standing your ground and explaining your position against Gary would - at least you'd know people understood where you were coming from, rather then just say "I'm leaving." This is an online forum - what is it for if not debate?
 
I agree that persistence is the key. Very important for sure.

I've seen a lot of people persist at stuff they simply sucked at and weren't going to get better at. But they believed in the dream and somehow in their head, maybe their parents told them or something but, they could do anything they wanted!

I read the other day a funny quip about "You can make a career out of your passion, but there won't be any jobs" That wasn't how it was said obviously, but it gets the point across. We have to plug and chug at the right things or we are wasting our time.

I like the idea of "don't wanna write 50 articles? Write 100 then!" Breaking down those mental barriers, changing frames of reference and baseline activities. Very important.
 
Holy crap CCarter, you make some massive assumptions that are either ignorant or wildly arrogant. I read EVERYTHING! All you got (and all I posted about) was what stuck in my caw, which was you basically questioning people's focus which I consider an integral part of a persons work ethic. Can you see where I have a problem with that?
 
He said things that were good, but I have heard better and read better, but it was good. Either you agree with it or disagree, its all good.
 
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