The Anti-Hustle Formula for Entrepreneurs

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Are you tired of the hustle culture that is constantly promoted?

Are you wondering if there is another way to be successful in business?

In business today, the idea that constantly ‘hustling’, and working all the hours under the sun has really risen to prominence over the last few years. And while working hard in business is necessary, working smart is a much better way to grow your business and avoid burnout.

While working hard in business is necessary, working smart is a much better way to grow your business and avoid burnout.Click To Tweet

In this article, I'm going to be sharing my anti-hustle formula for entrepreneurs, which includes 12 ways that we can get away from the "hustle" and work intelligently.

This episode is sponsored by Restream

What You’ll Learn

[4:21] What Does ‘Hustle’ Mean?
[14:38] Know Your Goals
[18:53] Work Intelligently
[22:43] Work In the Sweet Spot of Now
[24:15] Cut Out the Dead Wood
[25:34] Put Important Activities in Your Calendar
[28:37] Be Laser Focused
[31:02] Money Is Important
[33:09] Delegate and Grow Your Team
[35:40] Look After your Mental Health & Wellbeing
[38:36] Listen to your Body & Mind
[41:00] Create a Personal Manifesto
[42:58] Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

What Does ‘Hustle’ Mean?
Listen at [04:21]

The definition of hustle depends on whether it is being used as a verb or a noun. But either way, it’s not something that has a particularly positive connotation.

The traditional meaning of the word is:

Verb: jostling about or being pushed roughly.
Noun: which is obtained illicitly or by forceful action.

However, nowadays it’s used to talk about working really, really hard, particularly on your business and working all hours of the day and week.

And don’t get me wrong, we do need to work hard in order to get results in our business, it’s not always a bad thing.

However, there can definitely be some peer pressure to work more hours and be more successful in your business and this can overspill into unhealthy working behaviours.

So, let’s look at the components that make up my anti-hustle formula, to help you have success in your business without reaching burnout.

#1 Know Your Goals
Listen at [14:38]

The first thing is to look at your life with a little perspective and really be honest about what your ultimate goal for your life is.

It’s a little morbid, but when you are on your deathbed and look back, what will you wish your life had been.

Arnold Zack said: "No one on their death bed ever said, I wish I had spent more time on my business."

It’s easy to let the day-to-day monotony of life get in the way of thinking about the bigger picture, but it’s so important to take time to really think about what you want.

This will be different for everyone, for some people this might be money, which is obviously important. Without it, you can’t have a profitable business, and this is necessary in order to take care of yourself, your loved ones and potentially staff.

However, this doesn’t mean that it will be the end goal for business owners. It’s up to you to work out what is important to you.

#2 Work Intelligently
Listen at [18:53]

As a kid, I used to play the cello, and I was told I needed to do an hour’s worth of practice every single day. So I would get the clock out and practice for an hour with no planning or focus, I just let the clock run down.

If I’d planned out my practice intelligently then It might have only taken me half an hour, or maybe I could have fit more into that hour.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s not all about how hard you work, but how intelligently you work. And you should think about how you apply your time and resources every single day.

Now remember this work doesn’t sit in isolation, you’ll need to make sure that you put the effort in the right places so that you can meet your overarching goals.

#3 The Sweet Spot of Now
Listen at [22:43]

Very few people find the sweet spot in their business, and it’s all about finding the point where your passion, your zone of genius and money-making potential meet.

Money isn’t everything, however, it is really important in business.

There is no point in being really passionate about something that no one is willing to pay for. So as well as finding something that you enjoy, and that you are good at you also need to have an audience there that is willing to spend money on.

#4 Cut Out the Dead Wood
Listen at [24:16]

Can you think of any dead ends in your business?

Is there something that is sucking the time and energy out of your business but not really making you any money?

You need to be lethal here and cut out the things that are not going to help you reach your goals.

Yes, you could delegate them, but ultimately if they aren't going to help you reach your goals then you shouldn’t be doing them at all. That is why it’s so important that you know and understand your goals in the first instance.

#5 Put Important Dates In Your Diary
Listen at [25:34]

It’s really important that you set aside important times and dates in your diary, whether this is business or personal time. If you don’t mark this time down, then it’s likely that business commitments will get in the way and drain your time.

For me, this means marking date night, or time with the kids into my diary on a regular basis so that I know I will make time for them.

What this means will be different for everyone depending on your goals.

You might want to mark holidays, or days off, whatever it is that is important to you, make sure you do it.

We need things to look forward to and we need to have time with the people that matter and that we care for in our lives.

#6 Be Laser Focused
Listen at [28:37]

A few years ago I was having the same conversation with people over and over again at conferences, and that was:

"Ian, you're a really nice guy, but I don't really know what you do."

And I wonder, has anyone ever said that to you?

Being laser-focused has helped me clarify my niche, and now people understand exactly what it is that I do:

"I help entrepreneurs with confident live video to increase their business and their exposure."

If what you do isn’t very clear, or you do a bit of this and that, then it’s difficult for people to know what you do and that makes it hard to grow your business.

So I think that it’s pertinent to be laser-focused, plus it allows you to be much more focused on what you're doing.

#7 Money is Good
Listen at [31:02]

Like I said, money is not always the end goal, but it is important in order to look after yourself and your loved ones.

I’d recommend that you have multiple revenue streams, instead of focusing on just one thing.

But, again, your money should be very closely tied to your goals.

Money is important, but for me, it should be the vehicle that helps you achieve your goals, it should not be the end goal itself.Click To Tweet

What is it that you want?

Is it freedom?

Is it more time with your friends and family?

If that’s the case and you are working every single hour of every single day and not spending time with those people then you are kind of missing the point.

Money is important, but for me, it should be the vehicle that helps you achieve your goals, it should not be the end goal itself.

#8 Delegate and Grow Your Team
Listen at [33:09]

If you don’t want to be working all the hours under the sun, then you might have to delegate to team members in order to grow your business.

You might not be in the position to do this now, but it’s something that you will probably need to think about at some point.

You should make a list of:

The tasks you are not good at and don’t enjoy
The tasks you are quite good at, but that aren’t what you should focus on
The tasks you are amazing at, that you love and that no one else can do

The idea is to delegate what you can out of one and two, and focus on number three.

Focus on what you are really good at, and what you enjoy, and do that. For the rest of the work, you can get someone who can do it faster and/or better than you so that it doesn’t drain your time or your energy.

#9 Look After your Mental Health & Wellbeing
Listen at [35:40]

This is a big thing for a lot of my live show and podcast listeners, and that is wellbeing and mental health.

If you work too hard, you're not going to be creative and this can damage your productivity. So much so, that you could end up burning yourself out.

In the year 2000, I worked so ridiculously hard on my dissertation that I ended up with chronic fatigue.

There are plenty of stories of entrepreneurs that have ended up burnt out after working too hard. You do have to work really hard when you work for yourself, but you cannot do that continually.

Fitness is another thing that is really important for wellbeing and mental health, and I’ve found that since having a personal trainer and doing a lot more walking, I've had a much clearer head. And as a result of this, my business has definitely changed in a very positive way.

So, make sure that you take care of yourself both physically and mentally, as if you are feeling stressed and tired and you're working all the time, then ultimately you are not going to be any help to yourself or others.

#10 Listen to your Body & Mind
Listen at [38:36]

This is kind of related to number nine, and it’s not something that I’ve traditionally been very good at.

So often, there are telltale signs that we're working too hard.

Are you feeling really tired?

Are you feeling unhealthy?

Are you feeling anxious?

Obviously, we go through different points in our lives and sometimes need to push ourselves.

However, if the answer is yes to those things, and they are having negative impacts on your life, then you know that you might be pushing yourself too far and that it is time to take some rest.

#11 Create a Personal Manifesto
Listen at [41:00]

I was really inspired to do this by Jeff Sieh, and that is to create a personal manifesto - which is essentially a manifesto outlining your goals and what’s important in life.

And these things might change, they won’t always be the same at different points in your life.

What are your top priorities?

What are you wanting to focus on?

I highly recommend that you do this, and it could be as simple as creating a Google Doc, or a notepad somewhere.

It’s important that you make this holistic, it’s not just your business, but it’s all aspects of your life including personal, physical and spiritual goals.

#12 Don’t Compare Yourself with Others
Listen at [42:58]

We are all different, and success is totally subjective, so it’s really important that you do not compare yourself to others.

Success is relative to your and your goals, and comparing yourself to others will only impact you in a negative way.

Some people might be making six figures, but they might also have a team to pay or live in a very expensive part of the world.

Your goals should be entirely focused on what you want, and aligned with your goals as every single person is different and no two businesses are going to look the exact same.

That’s why goals and a personal manifesto can really help, as it puts you and your business at the forefront.

But ultimately, hustle culture does not work, which is why I’ve come up with this alternative that is the anti hustle formula for entrepreneurs. And my hope is that my 12 points today can help you live a healthy life so that you can invest in yourself and help others as well.

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The Confident Live Marketing Show

The Confident Live Marketing Show is a weekly live video show and podcast. It’s aimed at established entrepreneurs who want to level up their impact, authority and profits through the power of live video, webinars and podcasts. We’ll focus on knocking down the 3 main barriers these entrepreneurs face when creating live content - camera confidence/mindset, tech/gear and content marketing.

It’s hosted by Ian Anderson Gray. He is the founder of the Confident Live Marketing Academy and is the host of the Confident Live Marketing Podcast. He helps entrepreneurs to level up their impact, authority and profits by using live video confidently. He’s founder of Seriously Social - a blog focused on live video and social media tools. He’s an international speaker, trainer, teacher and consultant. He has a passion for making the techno-babble of live video and social media marketing easy to understand. As well as being a geek, husband, and dad to two kids, Ian is also a professional singer and lives near Manchester in the UK.

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About Ian Anderson Gray

Ian is the founder of the Confident Live Marketing Academy and is the host of the Confident Live Marketing Podcast. He helps entrepreneurs to level up their impact, authority and profits by using live video confidently. He's a geek, husband, and dad to two kids, and trained as professional classical singer. He lives near Manchester in the UK. Find out more