Hey, fellow entrepreneurs – brace yourself for a potentially uncomfortable question. Have you ever stopped to consider if the whole concept of ‘hustle culture,’ where you grind 24/7 and sacrifice everything for success, is not far off from the deceptive promise of a pyramid scheme?
Think about it. Pyramid schemes thrive on the idea that if you just work hard enough and recruit sufficiently, you’ll reach the pinnacle of financial independence and luxury. Sounds familiar? The hustle culture narratives often parrot this same tune: Work around the clock, say goodbye to your social life, and you’ll be rewarded with entrepreneurial nirvana.
But here’s the controversial bit: Isn’t this promise equally misleading? We celebrate the few who make it, plastering their faces on Forbes and glorifying their bank accounts, but ignore the silent majority suffering from burnout, broken relationships, and spiraling mental health. The narrative dangerously implies that those who fail just ‘didn’t hustle hard enough.’
Are we simply perpetuating a toxic cycle that’s as risky and destructive as the schemes we publicly condemn?
Let’s have an honest conversation. Are we unfairly romanticizing overworking, or is this ‘extreme work ethic’ a necessary step on the ladder to success? Where do we draw the line, and how do we build sustainable, healthy entrepreneurial ventures without falling into this trap?
Ready for the heat
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I think the most successful people that made it sacrificed more than the average person is willing to.
For example, after he graduated college, Mark Cuban rented a house that he shared with like 20 other young dudes and only had a towel to sleep on.
His whole life revolved around software sales. He even drove his then girlfriend away and chose working on his business rather than making more time for her. Right or wrong he chose to make those kinds of sacrifices.
I don’t think hustle culture should be shunned or blamed for anything. Because for most people it’s not even in their control.
They are pulled towards their goals similar to a kid who plays video games all day.
Both are spending a disproportionate amount of time and energy on something not because they have a gun to their head but because they are enjoying every moment of the game they are playing.
The most successful get there through sheer obsession. The problem is finding something that motivates you deep enough to give up the average employee life(nothing wrong with that, it’s just not for everybody).
That could be becoming super rich like whoever. That could be buying a sports team like Gary Vee, or amassing the most followers on YouTube like Mr. Beast, or putting humans on Mars like Elon.
They don’t hustle like maniacs because it’s cool and hip. It’s how they’re wired, it’s all they want to do, and because the vision/goal is that big it will require every ounce of themselves to make it real.
But they aren’t complaining about it because they love the process and signed up for it gladly.
Win lose or draw more output brings more experience and knowledge and maybe more reward but the true reward is in knowing what you want out of life, why you want it, and knowing yourself enough to determine if you’re willing to make the sacrifices needed to achieve your goals.
If hard work was the only variable directly correlated with success and wealth, why are street cleaners, fisherman and other laborers not multi-millionaires; they can certainly outwork any of us.
So this alone disproves working hard as the only perimeter.
On the other hand the correlation between charisma, who you know, your family background and race all have far higher correlation to “success”
I used to be a COO, and if I saw ppl working late it would tell me they’re either over worked (and the system was assigning them too much work) or they were struggling (and were unable to meet the standard for the position), I would have estimates on the workloads in my financial operating model which would tell me things like the estimated targets and relative averages of how many clients and client hours per client manager for example.
I think unless you’re a shareholder in a business, it’s ultimately just a job, working harder doesn’t increase any reward for you, where as for a shareholder there is a correlation, but even then, some things just take time, you can’t make a baby in one month by getting 9 women pregnant.
In short, yes.
No. You can hustle on your own and you don’t have to pay anyone.
You reap what you sow–Even if you’ve failed you’ve reaped wisdom.
It isn’t, it’s a completely different type of grift that appeals to people’s greed, ego and narcissism.
Truth is … you have to have intestinal fortitude. Which means you gotta want it. But you must be correct in your assessment of yourself and your abilities. I give you the example of a singer (or an actor or a ball player). There are many examples of people in these genres who have “made it”. But unlike what you see and hear, it’s more than just being discovered. You have to assess your talents and abilities to see if you have the basics of what it will take. Of all the success stories there are ten million failure stories. Being untalented, unprepared, and unwilling will always seal your doom. It ain’t easy in the beginning and if you think the struggles aren’t fun, then you are not in the right place.