2-3-4 Friday: respect the hustle 

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

 

1 thought 

Are you tired of being stuck in your career? Or in an aspect of your life? Like your finances? Or your fitness? 

 

You will always find hacks and shortcuts on the internet. 6 days to 6-packs! 10 days to $10,000! A proven system that works! 

 

Can I get your permission to burst that bubble? 

 

POP! There are no hacks. 

 

There’s just work. 

Even if someone gives you their system, it’s still their system. It doesn’t take into account the unique peculiarities of your situation. Or your personality. I’m not saying

Don’t read. Don’t learn from others. 

 

But I’m saying that even when you do, you need to 1. adapt, 2. work it. 

 

Someone was sharing with me recently about the immigrant mindset. About how immigrants are desperate to make things happen, because they have everything to lose. 

 

It reminded me of my own journey living abroad for 3 years as a student.

There were days when I entered my room, looked at the four walls around me, surrounded with pictures of my family, only to cry after realising how lonely it was. Other days, I was reminded of how different I was. Like the person who said, 

 

    You know, I hate Chinese people. 

Or the cleaning assistant who said, 

    Flush the toilet, you twat!

 

Or the teacher who said, 

    I know English is not your native language… but you can speak up more in class. 

But I fought for every opportunity. I knew I couldn’t just be good. I had to be fantastic. 

 

I kept hustling and fighting and striving. 

 

Coming back to Singapore, where it’s home, has meant that I’ve grown comfortable. Where enough is okay. Not anymore. 

 

Having this immigrant mindset is not about moving abroad. But it’s about fighting, with your backs to the wall, knowing that retreat is not an option, and making things happen. It’s about constantly iterating, trying, and learning. It’s about running small experiments about what works, what doesn’t work and learning from each experiment. 

 

It’s about not giving yourself a way out. 

 

When I first started trying to make a living on my own, I kept asking people,

• How do you get more customers? 
• How do you get more known? 
• How do you get people to pay you money? 

Then I realised it’s not “how-to.” 

 

It’s “to”. It’s to try, to grit, to keep working. 

 

It sounds crazy. It’s a good way if you want to make things happen.

 

1 quote 

“Vision without execution is hallucination.”

– Thomas Edison

 

1 tip

Remember how you ran experiments in school? 

1. Hypothesise. Write down what you expect. 
2. Write down the steps of what you plan to do. 
3. Carry out. 
4. Record results. 
5. Record learnings. 

Same with your life. Read an interesting idea? Experiment. Record. Track. Learn. 

 

P.S. You studied 16 years in school. And found none of it applicable to your years in work now. Have you ever wondered why? Maybe you felt like nothing would ever work. It’s because you haven’t focused on the single most important relationship at work. I’ve helped people like Gary achieve a 25% pay rise in 3 months. And to wake up raring to work. Want that? Let’s chat. 

 

John, liveyoungandwell.com - Own Your Adulthood