The Hustle
2006-03-02 6:11 a.m.
A hustle is a hustle is a hustle.It�s been my mantra for over a decade now. Chill out, I�m only 27.
The only difference between a $50 hustle and a $50,000 hustle is the suit and the discourse. Please allow me to repeat. The ONLY difference between a $50 hustle and a $50,000 hustle is the suit and the discourse. NOTHING more.
I learned this incredibly early on, and it�s scarred me (a scar I show proudly). I have clinked glasses with the wealthy and clinked 40�s with the poorest and the ONLY difference I�ve found is the fa�ade. What does that mean to you? Well it means that the $20k - $75k a year you�re making is a small part of a fa�ade that equals the complexity of selling a $5 bag of mind numbing organic plant or extract thereof�
I�ve explained this to some of the most low down and I�ve explained this to those with the nicest suits in the nicest restaurants in NYC. They all gave me the blank stare. Waved me off like the phony �art fans� of their stature who can price a bullshit painting at $1.5 Million but couldn�t write their own name in crayola watercolor to save their uncreative pale asses.
At the end of the day, all you�re doing is trying to prove that your bullshit shwag is better than the bullshit shwag of some other shmoe. So what�s the difference? The bullshit one represents themselves with. That�s it. The paint job sells the car.
Don�t run yet� this hustle includes your game at the bar and club. So you got big titties and a nice ass. So you claim you give good head. So you claim you can pay my bills. So you claim you�re a gentle(wo)man. You�re not. Nobody is. We all get old, and we�re all a pain in the ass to deal with. Give us enough time; we�ll weird you the fuck out.
It�s the same as telling someone your 2 square inch baggie is worth $10 while their regular guy�s $5 baggie isn�t worth shit. It�s the upsell. It�s the same as telling someone my bullshit hard drive with a lcd screen and buttons that have no semblance of sense while in one�s pocket is the quintessential walkman killer (with different size buttons and an off switch so you know what you�re doing while it�s in your pocket � yes, direct ipod rank � yes, I own one � yes I�ve been complaining about them since the day I purchased one).
And drive it up the chain. One man�s $15,000 hustle is another mans $5,000,000 deal. I�ve seen it happen time and time again, for, against, and having nothing to do with me, regardless of the product or the scope of the project.
In the end, it�s application. I know cats on corners who could run circles around cats in suits any day.
So apply this to yourself. You see a manager ahead of you who seems too dumb to handle their shit? How about their boss? And their boss? You�re probably right. There�s a good chance you COULD handle their shit better (if you actually WANT to be a manager � blech). But this is why they�re your boss. They know something you don�t. Actually they probably don�t even know it. They actually THINK they are better than you somehow. The unfortunate end being, that you believe them. Somehow, within their upbringing, they�ve been led to believe that their hustle is better than yours. Somehow, within yours, you�ve been led to believe that as well.
It�s not. It�s the same god damned hustle, with different stakes. And here�s the fun part. Those stakes don�t mean shit when you don�t have shit. The things they believe should be highly regarded are bureaucracies created by others blinded by the same perspective. Those suckers are hoping to climb the imaginary ladder that the few at the top left in the shed for the kids to play with.
Look at their systems and take note of where they go horribly wrong. Work your way through their bullshit politics to get a better handle on other inherent mistakes. Then� do your own thing and demolish them at their own game.
And this isn�t only business. This applies to �higher� society universally. And if you can NOT beat em? Well� you might want to question your own hustle.