Hustle And Progress
Two words that are synomous. It’s the work you don’t see. It’s the things that break down before they get better. Not easy, but it’s the hustle and progress.
‘The costs may outweigh the gains, but you don’t know either if you never try.’
I’m that person who has feared failure.
I’m the person who has feared losing friends over anything.
I’m the person who didn’t do anything because no-one else did the same.
We’re all those people, in whatever small capacity in may be; we all play this role.
Not many people understand my battle.
My battle with myself.
It’s all well and good listening, but understanding is another matter.
Before university, I never finished things I started.
I put others well before myself.
I focused on maintaining relationships rather than addressing the issues.
A lot of that has changed because of the people around me.
They have forced me, through their actions and indirectly, that it’s not the way to live.
It was eating me up inside and I was not being healthy in my actions.
I was hurting myself without knowing.
There was only one common equaliser: meaningful work that made me happy.
I’d been hurt too many times to expect anything from anyone.
Instead blame the world, I buried myself in things that made me happy.
I think that’s where the notion of working hard came from.
It started from being treated poorly but loving the people I worked with at Orpington.
I learnt how to be the best customer servant as possible, even if the customers didn’t think anymore of me than they did the bottom of their shoe.
Being a ethnic minority in a all-white establishment is a lesson in tolerance. Not for them, but for me.
I learnt to treat people with respect even though they had nothing but things to say to me.
I still took pride in the work I did and was very honest about my situation.
Next, I worked in journalism at university.
But I was still this people-pleaser.
I still wanted people to notice me. I wanted friends that would do anything for me. I would do everything for them and expect the same in return.
But had I earned it? No.
Not one bit.
Turns out that expectations also cripple you.
It’s a hard truth and it’s no-one blame for me figuring that out.
When I hustled, I didn’t specifically make professional progress. More personal progress.
I learnt about the man I wanted to be and how I wanted to help others.
The main caveat was that I had to help myself before others.
Because my selfless nature had to be controlled.
It still gets out of hand today.
I’m known to go off the radar, and I know many people who do the same, they don’t reply or get in touch.
It’s the workaholic nature.
That isn’t a good thing and it hurts a lot of people, including the workaholic themselves.
I love the work I do and am fortunate to have met some incredible people because of it.
I have met people doing their passions and loving what they’re doing.
I love what I do too.
I try and enjoy myself by playing golf or going for a drive.
But I also have family responsibilities, I live at home. I looked after my aunt for three weeks.
I have a lot of things going on that weren’t started by me but involve me.
There’s a lot of things that control my life and sometimes I’m very poor at prioritising.
I’ve got nothing to regret.
I’m happy because I got to spend time with family this summer. I got to work a job and meet the most incredible individuals who are gifted and talented.
I’ve met hustlers and game-changers.
All because I sought after looking for them.
My eyes have opened. I’ve made new friends, friends who I never would’ve connected with before.
I’ve done a crap job of keeping up with old ones. The day one ones.
One reason I’ve not been in contact is because I want to be 100% focused on what they’re telling me and I haven’t been able to free up enough time to do that.
I want to care and not be distracted.
I definitely work too much.
I should stop, but I’ve got a dissertation to write and a society to run.
I haven’t taken any other opportunities that have presented themselves to me.
It’s a hard blog to write because it’s all fragmented.
I’ve definitely changed as a person. My interests have narrowed.
I care about furthering people’s ambitions. I care a lot about ambition.
I like people with ambition, drive and motivation.
I feel reassured that I’m not alone around those people.
As I’ve grown, I’ve realised who I want to be and I’ve know I’ve already said that but it’s come to fruition.
I’ve met a man who works part-time at a drink mixing company and has his own business after studying a degree in Entrepreneurship.
I’ve met another man who left KPMG to start his own app.
I’ve met other Presidents who work harder than me to fit in their own work and the Society work.
I’ve met people that inspire me.
From Fort Worth to London, I think that’s the gist.
Inspiration. Passion. Ambition.
A reason to get up in the morning.
The hustlers who make progress for themselves and others.
Those are my people, the ones I’ve always been searching to find.
But just by accident, and a lot of luck, they’ve all walked into my life at the right time.
At a time where I’m willing to accept them and learn from them.
It’s a hard blog because it’s a mixture of emotions.
It’s not wanting to let go of the past but also wanting to grab hold of the future.
Hustle and progress