Hustle is not all that it's painted to be

It's really hard to talk about hustle without using a lot of terminologies that nudge content filters the wrong way. While discipline can take you a long way, being obsessed with your business day and night can lead you to burn out really quickly.

You've paid your dues in the corporate world, you made a lot of money for a lot of business owners. You always felt like you deserved that money, you deserved all that profit that you generated. You deserve to be in control of your own destiny.

So you take things into your own hands.

You feel like you're the king of the world, everything is going great. You're setting up your process, tapping into your network, make a few phone calls. It seems promising, and it most likely is.

But you feel it slipping slightly from your hands. It's not out of control, but you're reeling enough for it to be a problem.

Your mental bandwidth is finite

It's easy to think there are 24 hours in a day and stretch your work calendar accordingly. But you need to consider enough sleep to be able to function, and enough personal life to have a reason to be alive.

What about your brain? How do you stop it from constantly running? Thinking about work, ideas, content, deadlines, revenues, overheads...

Where does that leave your personal life? Spending time with your wife, while thinking about your clients does not constitute quality time. In the same vein, you're not on holiday if you're lounging on a beach answering emails.

If you work on social media like me, you know how hard it is to turn off. I admit I've stopped using social media in my personal life. Because social media feels like work.

I never capture the moments in my life to share with the world. I prefer to live through them. That's why I don't have a photo album documenting my life.

But when my mind is racing with business opportunities, I fail to live through the moments of my personal life.

While some economies are witnessing a recession, the country I'm currently residing in is witnessing an economic meltdown that was 30 years in the making and has little to do with COVID-19.

Having to hit the reset button and relocate to a new country is not a simple task. Let alone doing it all while trying to get a business off the ground and planning your wedding.

You should be planning your mental bandwidth the same way you manage a healthy work schedule.

You need to temper your passion

Don't buy the fluff that motivational speakers try to shovel into our brains so they can sell us their "get rich quick" template. Don't buy into the hype.

Yes.

You should follow your passion.

No.

You shouldn't sacrifice the rest of your life to do so.

You can only do so much before you will start to crumble under the self-inflicted pressure.

“The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.” ― Lao Tzu

Successful businesses are not the ones that grow quickly. Instead, they are the ones that keep a steady pace through thick and thin. It's better to keep a measured but steady pace to ensure that you are giving a reliable and strong effort.

What good is your business if months from now you need to take a month-long vacation to recharge? At best, your customers will be annoyed, and at worst they will find someone else.

You have been waiting for this moment for all of your career. Master of your own schedule at last.

Your passion for greatness is fuelling your energy. You might need to dial it back a touch.

Apollo 13 is a good reminder of what would happen if you don't.

Keep your hand on the eject button

Everyone makes mistakes. Even seasoned professionals need someone to keep them in check from time to time. Hell, even machines fail and need to be calibrated to stay precise.

Making the jump into entrepreneurship is not an easy decision. You have to consider a lot of variables, and you have to do your homework beforehand. But even if you identified a gap in the market, found the perfect product, ensured product-to-market fit, harvested proof for the demand, and secured the funding for the project, So what?

What if you weren't the right person to put this project together?

Are you ready to admit it?

Are you ready to consider the signs with an objective eye and tell yourself "I made a mistake"?

Or will you instead buy into the hype, and pour every single waking moment trying to salvage this sinking ship because you cannot afford to fail?

If you are not able to see the signs, make sure you surround yourself with people who are.

And when the time comes, admit defeat and save your mental health.

It's better to be a failure than to become another gravestone.

I am not ok, and I know why

What is going around the world feels surreal. What is going on around me feels like hell on earth. It is understandable to feel frustrated when you are looking forward to a gray future just to escape the black present. I'm 29 years young, I'm forcing myself to start anew.

A new business, in a new country, living in a new world.

I'm not looking for pity or help. In fact, unsolicited advice has done more to hurt my psyche than it has to improve it.

I do not take solace in knowing that my problems pale in comparison to others. It only makes me feel invalidated.

My privilege does not make my problems easier, nor does it make other people's problems worse. I try not to talk about my struggles because others are finally getting the platform they sought.

My mental bandwidth can only fit my own struggles. I can only ask that you respect my silence.

And be patient if I reschedule our meeting or delay my quote. I'm trying my best with what I've got.

Have some empathy when dealing with small business owners in these times. What have you got to lose?

Right now?

Not so much.