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
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.