The “I’m Me” Theory

“Boy, I've got vision and the rest of the world is wearing bi-focals.” ― Butch Cassidy

All my life I’ve seen things differently. Where others see adversity I see opportunity. Where others see problems I see profit. And while this has led me to many successes, it has also led to many problems. Historically, when these “opportunities” arise and I share my ideas with those around me inevitable I am met with the same questions. “Hasn’t that already been tried?” “If that idea is so great why hasn’t anyone else thought of it?” and my favorite “If all of those other people have tried to do that and failed what makes you different?” Sometimes I answer these questions with a reply reminiscent of Condoleeza Rice’s testimony before congress. The reason being, that people don’t like it when I answer with the 3 word response that I prefer. “Because I’m Me.”

I realize how arrogant that sounds however, that is not my intention at all. I believe I am simply stating the facts. And if anyone questions your goals I would suggest that you do the same. Just because they don’t see what you see does not mean it’s not there. It means that they don’t have your eyes. Don’t let anyone project their fear of failure onto you. The reason you can do what you do is because you’re you.

If you are a better business person than most, claim it. And when people ask you why you started a business in “this economy”, you tell them “Because I can.” Everyone is capable of building castles in the sky, but only a few can build the foundations to support them.

Hustle Harder,

HNC III

Motivation anyone?

Part of the attraction of being a hustler is the self-determination aspect. You make your own schedule, determine your own priorities, choose your clients & co-workers, take power naps, eat cereal for lunch and pizza for breakfast – what could be better?!

As you go from meeting to meeting to meeting, on phone calls in between tweets there is an air of excitement, generated by the sheer energy that you radiate as you move ever more quickly toward success. As you check tasks off your to do list and set new goals to replace those accomplished it’s easy to get caught up in the rush and neglect the fundamentals. Let’s face it, there’s not too much fun involved. Nobody admires your brilliance for buying office supplies or paying taxes nor posts on Facebook about negotiating a good price with a vendor. Those things, and many others, have to be done in order to continue with the happiness of hustling though.

So how to stay motivated to complete the mundane? A few tips that help me:

1. Just like yawning, motivation is contagious. So spend some time with motivated/motivating people. It’s great to do so in real time but a virtual crew can be helpful too. Twitter is great for this as you can get to it on your phone, carry motivation in your pocket/purse. A few motivators that I follow: @Brotherjesse, @MrCrawford, @crayyy3, @sweetlocs

2. If you know you’re a morning person, schedule your most mundane/least inspiring work for morning so you’ll have the maximum amount of energy to devote to the tasks. Reverse if you’re a night owl.

3. Move around; sitting in one place breeds stagnation. Think about it - water that constantly flows is life giving. Stagnant water can kill you.

4. Work on your resume; consider interviewing for a job that you know you don’t want…and getting it! Now imagine having to be there every day, going to meetings, dealing with co-workers you didn’t choose…If that doesn’t motivate a hustler then I don’t know what will!

Keep hustling!