Note: I’m taking the day off today, so today’s email is a re-print of one of my favorites on why the “weekend hustle” culture can be toxic for a lot of entrepreneurs. Enjoy
One of the most toxic ideas in our industry is that you need to be “grinding 12 hours a day, even on the weekends”.
When I was younger I bought into this idea hook, line and sinker.
Why?
Well for one, I was a huge Gary V fan…
And one of Gary’s mottos was telling people they need to hustle all day, everyday.
If you weren’t working, someone was going to pass you by.
So I started to believe that things like getting a cocktail with friends was a waste of time.
And sleep?
Forget about it.
You can sleep when you’re dead.
Right now is the time to hustle.
Go balls to the wall…
And simply outwork everyone…
Then you’ll be successful.
And here’s the thing…
There’s a lot of truth to this.
If you simply work more than everyone else…
If you’re grinding all day on Saturday…
You’re probably going to do pretty well financially.
But I can tell you from experience there’s a darkside to this.
And it’s one that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Sure you might make a bunch of money…
And your friends might marvel at your success…
But there’s a good chance your life will be a mess.
You’ll prolly be unhappy.
You’ll dread waking up the next day cause there’s just a never-ending pile of stuff to do.
And what was once fun for you…
And something you looked forward to every morning…
Suddenly turns into a soul-sucking job.
I’ve seen it happen to numerous friends.
And it happened to me in 2016 as well.
In 2016 I was making more money than ever before.
But I was also more miserable than ever before.
I stopped doing stuff I loved like wakeboarding…
I stopped going on dates…
Everything was about work.
And it was 12 hours a day…
7 days a week…
And when it came to the weekend, Saturdays weren’t a day to relax.
They were like any other day.
Saturday was for me to “catch up” on work…
Or to “get ahead” of everyone else.
The worst part was that I felt like I HAD to work on Saturdays.
And if I didn’t, I felt guilty.
Being a few years older and a bit wiser now, I believe this kind of thinking is toxic.
You can be just as successful (if not more successful) with balance in your life.
You can have Saturdays where you don’t even open your laptop…
Or Saturdays where you don’t check email…
In fact, I’d say this is essential if you want to be successful long term.
Cause the “grind all day, everyday” mentality works really well for a while…
It makes you a lot of money.
It gets you accolades.
You feel like a “real entrepreneur”.
Everything seems like it’s working great…
Until it stops.
And you end-up feeling like a train going 100 mph as you crash into a brick wall.
That’s what usually happens.
And it’s why I’m a big advocate that there is a better way…
Sure making a bunch of money is great…
But do you know what’s even better?
Enjoying your life while you make a bunch of money.
That’s what you really want.
You want to be able to live the life YOU want.
And not feel like you HAVE to be chained to your desk every weekend.
If you tend to be a work-a-holic like me, this is not easy to do…
But I believe it’s essential.
If you want to be successful for years and years, you need balance in your life.
You need days off…
And you need to have things in your life that you enjoy that have nothing to do with your work.
That’s my 2 cents…
Enjoy your Saturday.
– Justin
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