Hustling Won't Build A Sustainable, Successful Online Business

Attention all online business owners and entrepreneurs: let’s band together and stop hustling in 2020. I’m serious. Let’s say no to the rise and grind mentality, the 80 hour work weeks, and the “I’ll just bring my laptop onto the couch while we watch this movie, babe” mindset. You in? No? Still a little on the fence and attached to the workaholic identity? It’s okay… keep reading!

People say you have to hustle because they believe they have to hustle, and you know that ol’ misery-loves-company-thing? Yeah, it’s true. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, studied, and learned in this online space is that some of the loudest voices saying you have to hustle and work-work-work are speaking from THEIR experience of hustling way too hard and work-work-work-ing themselves to death. In their paradigm, in their reality, they believe that is the truth because… for them it is. But here are the facts: THAT’S not a fact.

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Hustling 25/8 to run your business gets you…

Nowhere fast. 

Nowhere long-term.

And nowhere good, healthy, exciting, fun, sustainable, inspirational…. You catch my drift?

It gets you on the burnt out, overwhelmed, dreading work train which makes stops very often at procastination-station, throw-in-the-towel-city, and hate-my-business-land. 

But don’t take MY word for it. Literally Google burnout, adrenal fatigue, or exhaustion.

These things are real, and you are really going to have a hard time building that incredible empire, impacting people, and changing the world if you actually physically cannot get off the couch because the sense of impending doom hovering over you.

So yeah, real anti-hustle over here.

What I’ve noticed: a lot of people that get caught up in hustling through their business (and their lives) have…

1. No idea what they are actually doing. They’ve ended up half-assing a lot of strategies that they don’t fully understand (because they are mimicking what they see others doing, but don’t know the behind-the-scenes).

2. A lack of belief in their abilities to actually create their dream life or business. They are band-aiding over their fear and mindset issues with WORK-WORK-WORK messages that might get a quick win here or there but won’t last.

3. A dependency on sheer willpower, grit (whatever the f* that is), and caffeine (or essential oils, whatever) that has completely clouded out WHY they actually started their business in the first place and has just become an almost-drug-like-addiction to the hustle. 

It’s honestly super sad to think about, because I think we all have incredible messages to get out there, to share, to help people, to make a positive impact… yet that cannot happen from a place of unhealthy hustle. It’s sad, dangerous, and straight up poisonous to think that all that matters is how hard you work. The truth of that is someone will always work harder than you — someone has less kids, more time, more money, a more supportive spouse, etc. than you — so if that’s all that matters… well, honestly, you’re f*cked. 

So now that you might feel a bit personally attacked (I’m sorry, it’s tough love!) let's talk about an alternative way to approach this thing called being a business owner. 

It’s called alignment, and y’all, it’s really nice. It’s lets you take breaks, rest, and be inspired. It lets you create something that matters, that you are proud of, and that will actually last you the rest of your working-life (if you want that). It lets you watch TV at night with your partner with no guilt, and wake up and like… enjoy your morning (what the what?!). 

Alignment allows you to take deliberate and inspired action that actually moves the needle in your business. It allows you to stop comparing yourself (and your work ethic, or ability to ‘power-through’) to others. It allows you to see big, overwhelming projects as a set of smaller, intentional steps that are so, so, so doable. It allows you to BE the version of yourself that runs the sustainable, healthy, happy business you so desire. It’s the magical solution you’ve been hunting for on all those nights you couldn’t sleep because you drank too many cups of coffee and your brain is racing.

So here’s the thing that pisses people off about this conversation: they’ll cry out — YOU CAN’T JUST MEDITATE YOUR WAY TO A PROFITABLE BUSINESS.

Okay, so true. First of all, I didn’t say that. Second of all, you should try meditating with all that anger and yelling (sheesh!)

Alignment brings about inspired or aligned action. There’s still action. There’s still the ACT of doing things. You still gotta put something up for sale, work with clients, sell a product, whatever. But it doesn’t have to be ridden with this negative, anxious, overwhelming energy that makes you hate your business. It can feel good. Fun, even!

Deep down, you know what I am saying is true. It’s the truest truth there is: we overcomplicate things, make things way harder than they have to be, and generally like to run on this adrenaline-rush-cortisol-overload mixture because… well, because it’s all we really know. But there is another way, I promise you that.

If you’re ready to explore that other way, here are some things for you to reflect on:

First: What are you doing in your business right now that you absolutely hate and dread doing and like optionally choose to fold laundry or scoop the catbox instead of doing? Do you have to be doing that? Who said you had to do it? Is that 100% true?

Second: What about your business do you love doing? What gets pushed to the top of the to-do list because you are excited about it? How can you do more of that or explore more opportunities like that

Disclaimer, for the haters: Yes, you still have to do taxes and boring ish like that. I’m not saying to tell the IRS that it wasn’t in alignment for you. But, if it’s a really big issue for you… that should be on the top of your outsource list! (Check out Bench.co* — best decision I ever made!)

Third: What do you think will happen if you actually stopped hustling and made an effort to focus on alignment? What’s the worst case scenario? What’s the best? Explore your limiting beliefs here to see what you are actually resisting (because logically you can accept that alignment > hustle, but unconsciously you are probably still resisting it. We tend not to like change. That’s why I coach people through these concepts!)

And if you’re looking to really start changing your beliefs and thoughts around this idea, I have a few of my own personal mantras that you could use (or adapt, whatever):

1. The Rest Is The Work

2. It Is Safe For Me To Say No

3. How Can I Allow This To Be More Fun?

4. This Gets To be Easy

Obviously feel free to come up with your own, but “having to hustle” is a belief that I want to encourage everyone to rewrite. Your business depends on it!

Are you ready to give up the hustle-mentality? Share with me in a comment or on Instagram what this brings up for you!

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