Sweat Equity: Why Your "Hustle Culture" Complaints Make Me Twitch

Ready for some real talk? Today's episode dives deep into a topic that's been on my mind—and honestly, it's been making me a little fired up. I'm talking about the backlash against hustle culture and why it strikes such a nerve with me.

Growing up as a smaller athlete, I had to put in extra work just to compete—running, lifting, and training outside practice hours became my normal. That experience shaped my definition of hustle: not toxic overwork, but the necessary effort to succeed when the odds aren't naturally in your favor. This mindset carried me through being the first in my family to attend college, where I found myself surrounded by wealthy students at a top liberal arts school while coming from a middle-class background.

For me, hard work has never been about bragging rights or burnout. It's been the foundation that's built everything meaningful in my life and business. When I hear people dismiss hustle culture wholesale, it feels like they're dismissing the very principle that empowers people without inherited advantages to create their own opportunities. The willingness to research, test ideas, fail, get back up, and keep going isn't something to apologize for—it's something to celebrate.

This isn't about working ourselves to death. It's about recognizing that meaningful success rarely comes without significant effort, and that putting in that effort doesn't make you a victim of toxic culture—it makes you someone who's willing to invest in their dreams. Whether you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you found yourself defending the value of hard work in a world that sometimes seems to vilify it? Let me know, and let's keep this conversation going.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Day of Decision
• 0:29 Triggered by Anti-Hustle Culture
• 1:19 Athletic Background and College Experience
• 2:58 Hard Work as Entrepreneurship's Foundation
• 4:09 Final Thoughts on Earning Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Well, today is the day. Today is the day that you are going to decide that I am your person or I'm just not the right person for you. I probably am going to say some things that again this is why it's on the unhinged version is because I'm saying what I actually truly, wholeheartedly believe. I get very what's the right word. I get. Oh, how do I say it without being too controversial with this? Oh, my goodness, when I hear people talk about hustle culture and how it's such a bad thing and it's so awful, and I get triggered. That's the word I'm looking for. I get triggered when people talk about hustle culture and how it's wrong and you shouldn't be in that way. And here's the reason Because when I think of hustle, I think of working hard, of putting forth effort to become better at something, that I believe that if I put forth effort at something into a passion, into a goal, that I'm going to hit it and I don't think I should be made to feel like that. That's wrong. And I guess it's because I'm taking hustle and applying it in different rounds. And let me give you a little bit of backstory, and why exactly so?

Speaker 1: 1:19

I always attribute hustle with hard work because as an athlete I hustled. That was, I was small, I had to. I was constantly working out outside of practice time, running, lifting weights, doing things because I was smaller compared to the rest of the athletes that were out there. I wasn't overly fast even though I was small, so I had to do things that were extra and in my mind that was hustle, even though and I guess that's why I naturally put together hustle and hard work and think that they pretty much mean the same thing I was the first child grandchild to go to college and I didn't go to a normal college. I guess you could kind of say it's still one of the top colleges in the country. For liberal arts it ranks in the top 15. First to go to college and I really didn't fit quite in because I was middle class and most of the kids that were there were not. They came in in their BMWs and their SUVs and their Lexus and their Mercedes and I really didn't fit into that pay bracket, let's just say for my parents.

Speaker 1: 2:38

So for me, hard work has always been who I am, it's how I've gotten ahead, it's how I've been able to do the things I've been able to do and it's truly what I believe is the foundation of entrepreneurship. So for me, when I see people talking about oh hustle culture is so awful, it makes me angry because I don't believe that. I in turn believe that if you put in hard work, you do the work, you do the research, you figure out things, you test things, you fall in your face and you get back up, that you're going to succeed and that isn't wrong. That, I honestly believe, is what this whole country was founded upon that if you worked hard and continued to get up after failing, that you deserved it and that wasn't a bad thing. So today's episode is brought to you on the crazy of me, obviously, I've just been really thinking a lot about this lately and how I still believe that people should not be handed things.

Speaker 1: 3:48

I think that hard work is not an accolade that you're looking to earn and a pat on the back saying, oh, you're such a hard worker, but it is something of value. And when you work hard to figure things out, to fall on your face and get back up, you deserve what you are going to earn in the end. So hopefully I didn't upset any of you listening and it can make you feel like the hard work I have put into my business has been well worth it, and I deserve what I am getting and will get in the future as I continue to work on my goals.