Hustlin' Flow: Juggling it All

By: Qualatrice (I Journi)

Growing up I hustled for money; now that I am older I hustle for growth, experiences, and "money."  There are so many different definitions of the word hustle and everyone hustles differently. My kind of hustle is having the confidence, courage and self determination to work hard towards an accomplishment.

Working full time and having a side hustle isn't easy.  For those looking in from the outside it may appear to be easy but everything starts with motivation, determination, and executing goals. Trust me when I say things can become overwhelming and you may become restless depending on what your hustle is but the outcome is worth it.

My drive to hustle started when I was younger. One day I  had to ask my mom for something my dad said he was going to do but never did, I'm pretty sure it had something to do with giving me money. Whatever the situation was, my mom told me I couldn't always wait and depend on other people to do things for me, I needed to learn how to do thing for myself. Every since her statement I would always find ways to hustle and get the things I wanted. I started off by charging family members and friends to do chores, babysit, and braid hair.  When someone asked me to do something I would always ask him or her how much was the pay.

Now as an adult, I am still hustling; This time around I am trying to gain experience and growth in the blogging/writing and marketing industry. I enjoy getting creative so why not put my talent to use. However, hustling is not easy. In my situation I really have to put in work to reach my goals. I work a full time job with some major responsibilities that require me to be focused and always open to learning new things. When you want something you have to find out how to make things happen especially when you already have a full time schedule.

Here are five few steps to consider when hustling and working a full time job:

1. Do More and Say Less is the best way to stay focused on your goals. Sometimes we get wrapped up in talking about the things we want to do instead of acting on them. I am always talking with my friends about my desires and what I want to do. However, one day I had to tell myself to stop talking and get to work. I decided I will show people what I am doing instead of telling them what I am doing. It's just like the saying, "Walk the Talk!"
2. Write down your goals! When you write things down you will have a better chance of executing and moving towards your them.
3. Set dates and draw out a plan with the steps it will  take to accomplish things and to get you where you want to be. When you stick to dates and deadlines, things will come together before your eyes.
4. Understand Time Management; it is vital. Working a full time job and developing a side hustle can be hectic. I had to learn, excuse me, I am still learning how to use my time wisely.
5. Building knowledge is very fundamental when it comes to enhancing skills. The more knowledge you have the better the understanding you will have. I have discovered free online courses through HubSpot that targets some of the things I want to learn more about such as content development. I read and look up different articles that tie into what I am trying to accomplish.

One thing to always keep in mind outside of my list is to remember why you started. There is a quote I constantly going by: “when you feel like giving up, remember why you started.” Don’t compare your success to others. Just like everyone hustles different, everyone’s success is different. If you compare yourself to other people you won't be able give your goals 100 percent of your focus and effort. Review my five steps and derive your own hustle steps, feel free to borrow and tweak! Now go be great -- stay focused, remember your why and hustle hard.

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