Master the art of the hustle & your business will grow...

An excerpt from The Rise To The Top... (source)

Here are a few hustles that I’ve encountered and have been repeatedly brought up in conversations with top entrepreneurs, rising entrepreneurs, and budding entrepreneurs. Whether you are extroverted, introverted or mute you can master the art of the hustle and your business will grow. Some are born hustlers and for others it is a learned technique similar to some people are born with a natural ability to do math (not me) while others study hard to become math whizzes.

1. Your horn was built for tooting. It is one thing to be humble and another thing to be a jerk, but if you are afraid to promote you and your business, you are not hustling. This does not mean turning your Twitter into an RSS feed for your blog or telling everyone how awesome you are, but it does mean making a conscious effort to promote, tell people what you are up to, and also have confidence in your accomplishments. Successful entrepreneurs are great self-promoters and believe in both their business and themselves.  Just don’t blow out the horn.

2. Screw Rejection. I remember trying to ask out a girl in 6th grade. I had no idea what I was doing and asked her out in the middle of a class…DURING the class with lots of people watching. Horrible idea. It didn’t work and I was super embarrassed. It is not that dissimilar from starting a business. You are taking a risk and putting yourself out there. Negabots will attack with their haterade. Hustlers don’t get embarrassed or upset,  they answer all emails (even the negative ones), respond to critics, make sales pitches, and make it happen no matter what. If someone told me I shouldn’t start a TV show without going to broadcasting school and having twenty years experience, I just look them in the face and say, “Thank you for your opinion. I respect that and I’m doing things a bit differently.” 

3. Don’t be afraid of saying “No”. If you are hustling, opportunities will come your way. In Gary Vaynerchuk’s case, he gets hundreds of opportunities a week: Business deals, book deals, TV deals, interview requests (Plug: Gary is the MAN for accepting mine because he went with a his gut feeling…thanks Gary). If the opportunity isn’t right for you, say no. Don’t chase all the shiny red balls, just find the ones that work for you and your brand. 

4. Knocking Down Doors. Often times the only way to knock down the door in the entrepreneurial hustling world is to blast it down. Cold-calling, asking friends for help, going to your family. Yes, it takes time but building a business takes hard, sweaty time. Ashley Cook and Danielle Dankner have an incredible story about their clothing line Ash&Dans where they went on a spree of cold calls and even showed up at shops with scarves in hand. And guess what? It worked. Now they are in four plus stores…and I’ll cut the story right there as to not spoil all the great stuff from these ladies coming on a future episode of The Rise To The Top. 

5. Fuel With Small Victories. Building businesses takes patience and hustle. But, I know I have patience problems (Do you?). We all want results NOW which is the selling points of get-rich schemes, MLM’s, and other sketchy stuff. Fuel yourself with small victories: You were complimented on your business, a happy customer sends an email,  you made one website sale. It is easy to bask in the light of BIG victories (million dollar deals, new clients, a gazzilion web hits, whatever), but a series of small victories will give you the attitude burst to keep rolling.

In a nutshell, get out there, ignore the haters, build your business, and adjust your hustling thinking and your success will be limitless (aww warm fuzzy moment right there).

The Cypher - Kanye West - Pusha T - Big Sean - Cyhi Da Prynce - Common (Dj Premier)

The Cypher at the BETs. No Copyright infringement intended; all material belongs to BET.

Economics is a theoretical science...

“Economics is a theoretical science and as such abstains from any judgment of value. It is not its task to tell people what ends they should aim at. It is a science of the means to be applied for attainment of ends chosen, not, to be sure, a science of the choosing of ends. Ultimate decisions, the valuations and the choosing of ends, are beyond the scope of any science. Science never tells a man how he should act; it merely shows how a man must act if he wants to attain definite ends.” - Ludwig von Mises Quotes

Loyalty...

“The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”—Rensis Liker

Walk as a king... the Ray Lewis speech (8min)

One of the greatest speeches that I have ever heard...

Learn to play the game...

"Mark Pitts said the greatest quote ever, I might get it as a tattoo one day. He said 'Play the game to change the game.' It's as simple as that and it works for all levels that I've been on in this career thus far. Like you come in with the intention to change the game, which I did and still have. But you can't change the game until you actually get in it and learn how to maneuver through it. Build the right relationships, build the right fan base and get the right power. You get the power by playing the game. Those were ill words". - J. Cole

Achievement is not always success...

 "Achievement is not always success while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances."- Orison Swett Marden

In a constant world of chaotic duress...

“Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards... Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.”- Sun Tzu

In a constant world of chaotic duress where aggression reigns supreme, we must never forget that our initial psychological make-up is derived from the early stages of human evolution and are comprised of the instinct known as “Survival”.  From a business perspective, it is the act of timidity that ruins relationships and transcends weakness.  Therefore, we must adapt and overcome.  

Through the years I have personally experienced this mindset, as my personal conceptual knowledge is supported via my own personal triumphs and down falls.  As I share the following posting below, please note that my preferential bias is supported with credible primary and secondary information.  As I tend to transcend from one topic to the next, this blog is designed to extract the inner workings of the psychological mind.  So let’s get to work….

                             “Que desiderat pacem praeparet bellum” - Vegetius

As the quote above, in Latin, via Vegetius states, “LET HIM WHO WANTS PEACE PREAPARE FOR WAR.” The challenge is that society has created a world full of timid and dependent robots.  I don’t mean to sound barbaric, but the reality is that we are all trained for peace, when the real world is in fact at constant war.

“This war exists on several levels. Most obviously we have our rival’s on the other side.  The world has become increasingly competitive and nasty.  In politics, business, even the arts, we face opponents who will do almost anything to get an edge.  More troubling and complex, however, are the battles we face with those who are supposedly on our side.  There are those who outwardly play the team game, who act very friendly and agreeable, but who sabotage us behind the scenes, use the group to promote their own agenda.   Others, more difficult to spot, play subtle games of passive aggression. Offering help that never comes, instilling guilt as a secret weapon.  On the surface everything seems peaceful enough, but just below it, it is every man and woman for him-or herself, this dynamic infecting even families and relationships. The culture may deny this realty and promote a gentler picture, but we know it and feel it, in our battle scars.”- Robert Greene

Furthermore, the future belongs to groups that are fluid, fast and flexible.  From a capitalistic and entrepreneurial mindset, we are facing times of mind-boggling duress.  As our constitutional rights are being stripped away with every new control, regulation, bill, and false patriotic propaganda implemented. We are in time of great scrutiny. On the contrary, it is these times that make, the select few of us, whom we are today.  So keep on fighting……Vereour Nasquam….and VIVA LA RESISTANCE! 

Can I live.... by J-Cole... (Video and Lyrics)

"Somebody told me that it's only one shot, so I'll be God damn, If I'm ever gonna stop.. Promise to my momma I'm a make it to the top.. So I'm a keep climbing to my heartbeat drop" - Can I Live... J- Cole

Like Hov said it Can I Live?
Aye dear Lord, Can I live? -Hey!
Now am I Living to get paid just slaves for a wage (all week)
I can't do no 9 to 5 told my momma (sorry)
I can't do no suit and tie, no I want the (glory)
If you knew me know my life is like a movie starring me
Pardon me, if it seems that I'm following my dreams
I ain't reading off the script that they picked (for me)
I ain't pissed, naw could'ntgive a shit (hardly)
I be shitting on them niggas that was shitting on me
Will I live or will I die before they get to know me
If I go I know the ones that's pouring liquor for me
And I know the fake niggas really hating on me
Knew that I was bout to blow so they was waiting on me
But Oh-No, Lord
See I'm smarter then they know-oh-oh
So hold on, Lord, Cause I ain't quite ready to go-oh oh

Can I live

Walk The Walk... In My Life Time Vol. 1

An excerpt from The Book Of Hov , written by Duane...

Many of us are living our lives talking the talk but not walking the walk. We falsely believe that we can establish credibility through our words and not our actions. Respect is not earned from what we say but from what we do. Society seems to be so much about image and swagger. If a person has charisma and knows what to say and when to say it, he or she is embraced in this society. I rather embrace truth than hype. I often write on how swagger cannot replace substance. Having substance in your life comes from experience. In the act of living your life you’re going to have certain experiences that shape who you are. The experiences in your life largely define you as a person and not the words that come out of your mouth. People often use words to persuade, convince, fabricate and deceive. In other words, words are at times used to make the speaker falsely appear to be something that he or she is not.

Your world was everything
So everything you said you’d do
You did it
Couldn’t talk about it if you ain’t lived it

“Where I’m From”

On “Where I’m From”, Jay-Z rhymes that he grew up in an environment where you couldn’t talk about being in the criminal underworld if you didn’t live that life. Ironically, many guys who come from the kind of environment Jay was raised in are guilty of doing just that. They try to define themselves based on the streets where they grew up. There might be “certified” gangsters in your neighborhood, but that doesn’t make you a gangster. You might live in a neighborhood full of successful professionals who are lawyers, doctors and businesspersons- but that doesn’t mean you will become a successful professional.

What you say and how you say it may be persuasive but that doesn’t make it authentic. You can only make your life what you want it to be through actions- you can’t talk it into existence. The pursuit of success in life is certainly competitive. But don’t compete against others on the issue of swagger. It’s not about who’s the coolest, the loudest, the most popular, the funniest or who is physically the toughest. It’s not about who tells the most amazing story…

If you seek respect then live your life with credibility. How you actually live your life will make a much greater impact than how you say you live your life. These lyrics from “Where I’m From” also indicate the importance of being a person of your word, doing what you set out to do. A real go-getter doesn’t hide behind words he makes his mark with strong, confident actions.

I hear you talking…but do you live it?