New Hustle

What a week, but it feels great to be exhausted because you’ve given everything you’ve got. The greatest reward is the reward you give yourself by being content knowing your all was given to whatever it is you do.

This from The Game of Life and How To Play It:

“In the following chapters, I will show how man can change his conditions by changing his words. Any man who does not know the power of the word, is behind the times.

‘Death and Life are in the power of the tongue.’ (Proverbs 18:21)

Everybody has an inner voice, you hear it in every situation. What does yours sound like? Any great achievement or goal attained is spoken in to being at one point or another. What we say most often to ourselves throughout the day, out loud – or in our own mind – define the emotions and reactions to every one of life’s circumstances.

We all want to succeed – we don’t all realize that the only way we can hustle harder, or overcome any inadequacy starts with how we talk to ourselves. From self defeating, hopeless words to words of health, wealth, love and perfect self-expression. From it’s too hard, I don’t have the energy, I can’t and I won’t to nothing can stop me, I have as much energy as I tell myself I have, I can and I will.

Change your conditions by changing your words – be aware of your words – only allow yourself to speak positivity to yourself and others, and experience first hand the fact the human mind sees life as it appears to be … defined by the words we speak to the circumstances presented us.

Whatever your religion or faith – the fulfillment of our greatest dreams and aspirations are spoken to life, or spoken to death – choose wisely – be aware! Have a great Friday, keep on hustling hustlers.

As I said in yesterday’s post, I’ve finally figured out a way to efficiently post valuable nuggets of wisdom relevant to anyone seeking to enhance their quality of life by never ceasing to improve and learn. I’m through the first few chapters of The Game of Life and How To Play It and I’ve been surprised by the gift Florence Scovel Shinn has in depicting descriptive imagery and even scripture in an all in one straightforward message of positively limitless potential.

So my bright idea? I’m going to hopefully not plagiarize or violate any copyrights, but post excerpts from paragraphs within the book and translate that to our daily grind in the new millennium (the book was written in the 1920’s).

Chapter 1 pg. 10, The Game of Life and How To Play It, Florence Scovel Shinn

“In the following chapter I will deal with the different methods of impressing the subconscious mind. It is man’s faithful servant but one must be careful to give it the right orders. Man has ever a silent listener at his side – his subconscious mind.

Every thought, every word is impressed upon it and carried out in amazing detail. It is like a singer making a record on the sensitive disc of the phonographic plate. Every note and tone of the singer’s voice is registered. If he coughs or hesitates, it is registered also. So let us break all the old bad records in the subconscious mind, the records of our lives which we do not wish to keep, and make new and beautiful ones.”

I read this and the imagery struck me. Most self-improvement teachers and books have similar messages all specifying about how to harness the power of our thoughts to create our world. Often in rose-colored glasses, without warning that maintaining this type of outlook upon life is truly a craft that takes time and focus to master.

The singer recording on the phonograph – the reality of our life and how our thoughts, whatever they may be, play the track of the life that we experience on a day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute basis. If you had the option of listening to your favorite song, or some depressing genre that you hate – who wouldn’t want to go for the better?

The message? Simple – our life is a recording of our thoughts, and we experience what we think, and we record what we experience. Hustling to your optimum ability, in whatever pursuit it may be, starts with a thought. That thought becomes the beginning of your track on your phonograph – where you take it and how it ends is in the action we must take to either make some dope music, or simply be content with a sub par track. Achieving goals requires consistent effort, consistent positive thoughts of achieving that goal, and never ceasing to quit trying until our subconscious mind breaks all our old bad records and makes new, beautiful ones.

Dig this post? Use the button below or above to tweet it, facebook it, or print it and give it to anyone else that could use some added hustle in their lives. Till tomorrow, hustle harder.

It’s been a minute, but I think I’ve finally figured out how to focus on my full time job and muster the time and energy required to produce quality posts on relevant matters concerning the millennial generation and achieving an optimum state of hustle.

I read, I love to read. I read because to deny the knowledge of the ages is to pretend that there is nothing one can improve upon. I download ebooks mostly, you can find a lot of them free. I’ll be updating the library on here within the week with some free books for your pleasure as well. Never cease to imrpove … kaizen!!

So my latest diamond in the rough is called The Game of Life and How to Play It (Forgotten Books), by Florence Scovel Shinn.  What an eye opener.  A quick note: it is very Christian based, and intactly describes how the laws of the universe apply to the teachings of the Bible – perfect for what I’ve been looking for.

Here’s a little exerpt from Amazon about the author:

About the Author:

Florence Scovell Shinn (1871 – 1940) was an artist-turned spiritual teacher, healer and writer who lived in New York. She is best known for her first book “The Game of Life and how to Play it” (1925), which includes quotes from the Bible and real-life anecdotes to explain the author’s understanding of God and man.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting excerpts from what I’m learning and discovering about myself and ways to enhance my hustle via this amazing read. To enhance my perseverance, self-control and determination to not only succeed, but rise above the worst of my demons.

Glad to be back, hope you hustlers forgive me for the lapses, time will tell and words will speak – but nothing takes place of action. Keep hustling, and don’t be shy, we’re made to connect.

God will take you through hell, just to get you to heaven/So even tho it’s heavy, the load I will carry/Grin and still bear it, win and still share it/Apologies to the fans, I hope you can understand it/Like a change in direction, even when you ain’t planned it/All you can do it handle it, worst thing you can do is panic/Use it to your advantage, avoid insanity manage/To conquer, every obstacle, make impossible possible/Even when winning illogical, losing is still far from optional/Yeah they wanna see you shot up in the hospital/But when life throws you punches, block and counter like a boxer do. ~T.I. No Matter What, Paper Trail

What it do hustlers, I know I’ve been out for a minute – but the hustle never stops.

It’s evolving, like everything else – and streamlining in to the direction I wanted it to go from the beginning, but lost track of it in the process.

Speaking of evolving, I finally watched this episode on VH1 – I strongly encourage you to recommend it to anyone and everyone, whether they like hip hop or not.

It’s inspiring to see someone go through so much and become something out of nothing. It goes to show how the right mindset and belief in yourself can take you anywhere. Tip’s hustle was real – street real. He has transformed his hustle in to a legitimate and unstoppable business and record label – Grand Hustle. But the transformation was not without a lot of pain and regret.

As a fan, it also put so much more meaning to every track he’s put out – whether it was his best friend getting shot or the life’s lessons that he has learned. As a musician, his cadence and play with words have captivated me since the beginning. Originality, definitely not a dime a dozen.

What I dig the most is his realness about the situation, and the fact that he now firmly believes (as a result of his life experiences) and advocates anti-drugs, anti-weapons and anti-violence – despite the streets he was raised in.

I found myself thinking – man, this guy is about the same age as me, and what do I have to show for it? Inspirational. Motivational. Watch it, share it!

Top 8 Reasons T.I. is king of the south: Great post detailing his success.

“There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential.” ~Rusty Berkus

Pampered youth perception
Taken directly from a CBS 60-minute special on millennials:

“They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating, and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds.”

I think every millennial has an unkempt amount of “you can do anything you want to” in their fuel reserve. I believe this is a direct result of how many have been raised. I also believe there is error to this generalization of all millennials – but that for a fair amount this has contributed to our somewhat deserved mindset.

What the recession is doing is forcing everyone to go back to the basics. For a while things got too easy, and any personal development expert will tell you that one of the worst things people or companies can do is get complacent once on top of the mountain.

Taking the post back to the topic –  the positive attribute towards our healthy dose of self-confidence (despite what some may consider arrogance or negligence to things that don’t matter much to us) is the ability to innovate and do things differently – for a good cause.

What this is, in a nutshell, is a perceived amount of potential that each of us has been ingrained to believe we obtain – which is a GREAT thing.  When used productivly, millennials have come up with nothing short of what is defining our digital future.  Twitter, Facebook and anything else you can think of that simply didn’t exist 10 years ago.

It’s in the realization of what our perception is of our potential where we either shoot for the stars – or settle for where we’re at. If you’re perfectly content with the way things are – then one would consider your potential met. But it’s safe to say for the majority, especially young entrepreneurial millennials, we will never be content until we know just how far this “potential” will take us.

So how do we get there?

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” -Liane Cordes

Continuous effort
Also known as – daily, consistent improvement (or the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen). I think the daily exertion we take on ourselves to improve our weaknesses is the only way to fully realize our potential.

And continuous effort is not easy.

It takes dedication, passion – a purpose. It takes inspiration.

It takes all these reasons and more to explain why the richest 2% of adults own half the world’s wealth. It’s not easy.

Perceive your limitless potential
Lastly – never put a limit on your potential. That’s like putting a cap on what you can do. No one can tell you what you are or are not capable of. No test score can describe the wherewithal you have within you to accomplish your dreams. How far you allow your potential to take you entirely depends on how high you perceive yourself as capable of going.

To wrap the post up, please re-read the following quote from William James until it really sits in – with the right mindset and attitude we are capable of anything.

“Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make very small use of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger.” ~William James

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin

As a continuation of yesterday’s post, Morning Domination, I thought I’d list seven of the most effective, common sense proof ways to get yourself up early.

Like any new habit, it takes time for your body and mind to adjust to getting up earlier.  Takes a little perseverance and a lot of determination, but you’ll reap the rewards.  The reality of it boils down to this:  you’re gaining extra time consciously living instead of unconsciously sleeping (as comfortable as that may sound) – given that we are all on the clock, so to say, I want to get the most out of life that I can.

Waking up one hour earlier than normal means 7 extra hours per week – 28 extra hours per month of conscious, beautiful, productive living.  In a world where I just don’t have the time is an all to frequent excuse – waking up earlier creates time that otherwise would have been lost.

Enough rambling – on to the good stuff.

1.  Don’t think just do
Don’t trust yourself in the morning. We’re in, what Steve Pavlina refers to, a “morning fog”. What’s the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Probably your mind trying it’s hardest to convince your body that it truly has GREAT reasons for wanting to stay in bed. “I slept so late last night, I’ve got such a busy day … I deserve an extra hour of sleep, etc. etc. etc.”  Instead, don’t think about it. As soon as the alarm goes off – rise up and go about your day. Quell the thoughts and it’ll be that much easier. Source: howtowakeupearly.com

2. Early to bed early to rise
This is a catch-22 because until you force yourself out of your regular sleep habits – you may not be tired early enough to get an adequate amount of sleep. However, I can attest to the fact that if you force yourself to wake up early, after a few days – I guarantee you that your body will want to sleep earlier at days end.  Strictly logic.

3.  Just say no to stimulants (after 12:00pm)
Coffee, alcohol and tobacco have all been proven to be the antithesis of a good nights sleep.  Various sources claim that caffeine stays in your system roughly six hours.  The general rule of thumb is avoid these types of stimulants after 12:00pm – that way by bed time there are no artificial chemicals that keep you up, or disrupt your quality of sleep – which brings us to point number four.

4.  Quality, not quantity
Everybody works a little bit differently.  Lately, I’ve been operating just fine on roughly 6-7 hours of sleep per night.  Some people swear by 8 hours, and yet some offer that 5-6 hours is adequate enough to keep us on our toes.   What’s more important than the quantity of sleep is the quality of sleep your body is getting.  During its replenishing stages, the body provides optimum regeneration with the television off, a comfortable temperature and a dark room.  Even though you’re asleep, if there’s noise or light your mind takes note of that – it’s been proven.  In fact, turn off the TV and/or computer 30 minutes before you’re going to go asleep for optimum rest.

5.  Snoozing is evil
I really don’t understand the snooze button.  Why even put in on alarm clocks?  It’s evil!  Really, what is five extra minutes of sleep going to do AFTER I’m already awake but make me more tired, more grouchy and more likely to set the alarm for a later time.  Just don’t.

6.  Put your alarm in another room
Simple but common sensible advise from zenhabits.net.  If it’s right next to your bed, it’s that much easier to hit the evil snooze button – and that much easier to fall right back asleep.  Force yourself up on your feet and you’re more likely to stay that way.

7.  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
Like I stated in the Morning Domination post – if you fail – don’t count yourself a failure.  So what, you didn’t get up this morning – don’t kick yourself or give up hope on developing the habit.  It takes persistence, tenacity and a determination to dominate your day instead of the other way around to adjust your body to getting up earlier.  Experts all say it takes roughly 3 weeks, or 21 days to ingrain a new habit.  On your successful days, make note of it on your calendar – that way you have visual inspiration of your success and you’re more likely to try to continue the next day.

Waking up early is truly its own reward.   Jump start you day.  Empower yourself with confidence and swagger. Determine that today is going to be another fulfilling, productive and amazing experience – and it will be. Keep on hustling.

Simplifying life has become a very popular topic these days – and it makes sense. The world never stops, and neither do those with the perseverance to excel. But in getting so wrapped up in doing things, we forget to stop and smell the roses.

In an age of constant stimulation, people often get the idea that life gets more complicated and demanding the higher the ladder that we climb.

More to-do’s, more meetings, more presentations and more deadlines to meet.

We stress out, sometimes take it out on people we care about and generally forget about the simple things that truly give us pleasure in life.

Robin Sharma often says that the best move in the opposite direction:

“They try and make their business models leaner and more focused. They do fewer but smarter things. They get wildly focused and wonderfully lean. And they most definitely run from trying to be all things to all people. Because real genius lives in simplicity. ” ~Robin Sharma

Here’s five ways to simplify your life to remember what’s really important:

1.  Reflect on your life
At least once a week sit down and just think.  Turn off the TV, get off Facebook and put your phone where you can’t see it.  Think about where you are, what has gotten you there and where you want to go.  Really think about it.  Often you’ll have revelations about the way things are and what you would like to be doing more of – and by maintaining our awareness of our present state we take ourselves off of the “auto-pilot” track and start meaning to live instead of living for means.

2.  Say “no” more often
Sometimes we try to be all things to all people – it’s human nature for many of us.  This leads to disastrous consequences.  To simplify your life, learn to say no more often.  Say no to buying new things you don’t really need, say no to bad habits and say no to anything that complicates your life with no lasting value.  Really figure out what is important to you – and what will make you happier in the long run.

3.  Declutter
Grab a few boxes and start throwing the unnecessary away.  This is easier for some people than others.  We tend to hang on to things that really don’t serve much of a purpose for us.  Have a garage sale, sell some things at the flea market to make some extra cash at the same time.  You’ll be amazed at how much better it feels to not have so much clutter surrounding you.

4.  Be more efficient
We all have to do things that we consider time-wasters.  Chores, cleaning or errands just to name a few.  Time spent on tasks that could be done more efficiently is time lost forever.  When you prioritize your tasks think about how to be most efficient while you’re doing them.  Try to find ways to be more efficient in anything that you are doing.

5.  Be driven by what you desire
Instead of reaching for the status of someone that has the things we want in life, shift your focus to why you want those things.  If we’re constantly competing with others, or trying to achieve the success of another we’re not living in the truth of who we are and who we want to become.  Focus in on you, on your potential and on your goals – and use those who are where you want to be as motivation that it can be done – on your own terms.

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There’s a distinct difference between ‘critics’ and constructive ‘criticism’. For the success-minded individual – part of the pangs of growth more often than not include how we process constructive criticism.

Constructive criticism, however, is entirely different from blatant hating. A great definition as voted on in the Urban Dictionary defines a hater as the following:

1. hater

A label applied to people who are more negative than positive when discussing another person. It most commonly refers to individuals whose negativity is so extreme that it is all-consuming. However, there are various levels and forms of being a hater, ranging from completely dismissing any positive traits or actions, to merely painting a less than flattering picture by using words with negative connotations. Hating is often attributed to jealousy, but just as often, it seems to stem from some other source – ex:

Susan: You know, Kevin from accounting is doing very well. He just bought a house in a very nice part of town.

Jane (hater): If he is doing so well why does he drive that ‘89 Taurus?

Love your haters

They’re there for a reason – and if you let them get to you, then you’ve let them win. It’s all about perspective.

If something a hater says about you really gets to you – you need to do some soul searching and figure out what limiting fear or belief about yourself is at the root of your negative reaction. Take responsibility for your limiting belief and grow from it – as Robin Sharma says – ‘the fears you don’t own become your prison bars’.

Simply put – if a hater is capable and able to get you angry – they’ve done you a favor.

Haters, in their hate, provide all the motivation we need to overcome any circumstance.

“If at first you don’t succeed – think of all the people you just pleased” -Unknown

The new hustle is about using a positive perspective to switch any of life’s circumstances to a beneficial opportunity for growth. If you have haters, you’re obviously doing something right or they wouldn’t be noticing you at all.

The best attribute that combats hating is having plenty of belief in your own abilities – aka self-belief. Don’t let a hater stop you from achieving your dreams – use their words as fuel to get to where you believe you can go.

If a hater changes your beliefs about what you can and can not do successfully – you’ve let them win. No one can tell you you’re not good enough, no one can tell you you won’t work hard enough – and no one can determine your future but yourself. Great quote from Roosevelt who explains it best:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt

Job security is a rarity these days – especially for the younger generation just arriving in their entry level positions.  These days, sometimes there’s nothing you can do to prevent yourself from losing your job. That disclosed – there are ways to make yourself nearly indispensable to your workplace, so that if the time does come for ‘cut-backs’, your head won’t be on the chopping block.

Co-worker of mine was fired yesterday at my office – for just cause. He, like many who have made the same mistakes, missed too much work – came up with one too many excuses – and consequently (after many warnings) was fired.

Regardless of what your job is, there are time proven methods that can enable you to become an asset that your boss would rather not do without.

“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” -Carlos Castaneda

1. Become a master at what you do
Whatever your job requires of you – become a master at it. Even the most mundane tasks can be accomplished more efficiently and with better quality to exemplify your commitment to excellence. To do this when everyone else settles for the mediocre route (because it’s easier) is the hard part. To do this consistently is even harder – especially for repetitive tasks. But as Martin Luther King, Jr. stated so eloquently – sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’ You may get a lot of haters for setting the bar high for whatever it is that you do – but that’s how you know you’re on the right track, so don’t sweat them.

2.  Only deliver the best production
Poor performers are the first to go.  Never allow yourself to deliver anything less than your best (plus 10%) on any assignment you may be tasked with.  Some people are ingrained with this – others aren’t.  I wasn’t.  But it became a habit I developed through the understanding that the greatest gift I could give myself (i.e. what made me feel best at the end of the day) was giving all I could give to everything I was tasked with.  Whether we like to admit it or not, the work that we do influences our feelings of self-worth.  By producing great things, we promote personal respect – which also makes you a valuable asset to any company.

3.  Keep your cool
Don’t be one to freak out over the smallest of issues – not only does this annoy people but it also drives a wedge in the productive intention of the workday.  Be the one that is recognized as always having a cool head, and soon people will be coming to you for advice on how to deal with difficult circumstances.  Companies need problem solvers, not problem multipliers.

4.  Kindness is a virtue
Be gracious.  Appreciate your co-workers and your boss, even if they don’t deserve it all the time.  I’m not saying suck up – but by being one who always shows their gratitude – you’ll be remembered.  One of my favorite things to do, after being chastised for making a mistake I shouldn’t have (I’m a work in progress too), is to thank my superior for helping me to improve.  This is not to impress – but rather to show that you are grateful you are in an environment where excellence is expected.

5.  Be grateful that you have a job
This is awareness.  There are thousands that have lost their jobs and are having a heck of a time trying to find another.  From entry level positions to lawyers – we read story after story about the rising unemployment rates and the bleak future ahead.  By being grateful, on a daily basis, for simply having a job, we will value its worth in our lives that much more.  By valuing our jobs more we come in to work appreciating it more (aka having a positive attitude about it) instead of dreading another day on the grind.

6.  Always improve – use the tools you have already
Improve, improve and improve yourself.  Never be satisfied with the status-quo.  As an individual, if you are determined to improve all aspects of your life – everything else around you will improve as well.  Your quality of life, your job security and the admiration of others for your positive influence.  Much of the younger generation also has technical savvy that many businesses covet – at my job I’m often the one fixing any network problems we may have, updating our website and being there for technical issues.  I’m definitely not a certified computer tech, but what I have learned and grown up on provides me with tools that a lot of other people don’t have – don’t be scared to offer assistance in other areas that can help save your company money.