Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter

by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson

It’s not fair, but that person with their hand always up is going to get promoted before you. They’re going to get an office before you. They’re going to leverage their promotion to a better-paying job at a competitor before you even get a raise. You were better trained, better prepared. But you didn’t let the world see that because you were scared. That fear is going to stop you from getting full value for your work. Don’t let it happen. On the other side of this coin is the person who’s too quick to raise their hand. They’re doing it because they’re fearful that someone else is going to get props before they do. So even if they don’t know the answer, they’re going to say something anyway.

I’m a firm believer that no matter how formidable they might feel, there are very few negative habits you can’t break in thirty days. Whenever I’m trying to improve an aspect of my life, thirty days is the goal I set for myself. And I’ve always been able to meet my goal in that time frame.

That’s a conversation that’s going to be much more productive at the thirty-day threshold than at day one. Whatever it is you want to improve or correct, commit to it for thirty days, and see how it changes your perspective. Give yourself the opportunity to identify with something different. You’re going to find that some of the things you “couldn’t live without” were actually standing between you and your best life. When you break those habits, you’re going to be amazed by how much you can accomplish when you free up your focus and put everything you have into your work.

Any of those scenarios is fine, as long as you are crystal clear about whatever it is. Without that clear vision, your hustle is never going to take you anywhere significant.

I’d say my biggest goal now is to give back. When you reach a certain pay grade, you become more conscious of what’s happening back in the communities you came from. Instead of worrying about what you’re about to do, you shift to focusing on your legacy and how people are going to remember you. Am I going to be remembered for making popular songs and selling flavored water? Or positively impacting the world? I hope that it will be for the second. That’s why, on a local level, I put my money behind projects that clean up playgrounds and promote healthy living for young people.

It might sound out of character for me, but I believe vision boards are a very powerful tool in calcifying what you’re working toward. When you force yourself to articulate your vision in words, you set a powerful energy in motion. You give something that was just a thought, or maybe even just a feeling, a real presence in the world. You make it a real thing. It’s easy to get started on your computer. Go to Google Images, and type in everything you think you’d like to have in your life: “beachfront property,” “Range Rover,” “pit bull puppy.” But what if your dream isn’t a physical thing? If you want a promotion at your job, google an image of a corner office. If you want to design your own streetwear, google a picture of Ronnie Feig or Virgil Abloh. If you want to go to college, google Harvard’s graduation ceremony—you

you should always aim high on your boards. If you want to fall in love, google an image of your favorite celebrity couple. Or even put up a picture of your grandparents if they’ve been together for fifty years. I think vision boards are even a great way for couples to get on the same page. Put together your own board, and have your significant other do the same. Then compare notes. The things that show up in yours, but not your partner’s, are the things they’re going to have to learn to accept about you. And vice versa. Making boards with each other is a great way to get a lot of unspoken things out in the open. I once told a journalist from GQ to make one with his girlfriend. He did and wrote that when he looked at hers “it had more babies than an orphanage.” They hadn’t talked about having kids yet, but that vision board put what she wanted front and center. I’ve seen vision boards make a real difference in people’s lives, and the stats back me up. A study by Dominican University found that you’re forty-two times more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. And a study in Psychological Bulletin found that people are 90 percent more likely to achieve goals that are challenging and specific.

When you settle, you’re demonstrating a lack of confidence. If your journey hasn’t been easy, you might start to question the value of what you’re doing. Maybe you’d better grab the next thing that gets offered before you never get offered anything again. When you begin thinking like that, you’ve lost the hustler’s spirit.

I decided to do an experiment when I was doing a round of meetings with TV executives. For some reason, they seem just a little bit cockier and more arrogant than other execs, and really like to control the room. I wanted to see if I could snatch that control out from under them without them even realizing it. Every time some big shot TV exec was pontificating about their plans, when they looked to me for that affirmation, I’d just sit there stone-faced. No nod. No laugh. I would not offer them anything. It would completely throw them off. They became very flustered. Once I had them off their game, it was much easier to assert my agenda and move the conversation in a direction that was beneficial to me. I was hustling harder, but literally without moving a muscle. Try it yourself. If you’re in a meeting and your boss looks to you for affirmation, don’t give it to them. That doesn’t mean stare at your phone or off into space while they’re talking. By all means, maintain eye contact and show that you’re listening. Just don’t offer them any nonverbal feedback beyond that. I promise that if you do that, the person who’s speaking will become fixated on you. Subconsciously, they will be thinking, “Everyone else is giving me verification. But this person isn’t giving me anything. What’s going on?” You could be the most junior person in the room, but after that meeting you’re going to occupy some prime real estate in your boss’s head. They’re going to be thinking, “That’s a smart ...

ACT LIKE YOU DON’T NEED IT Another technique you can employ to get something you want is to act like you don’t actually need it. It’s a technique that requires finesse, nuance, and unshakable confidence. Employ it correctly, and it will get you real results. Suppose you go into an interview for a job you really desire. It’s in your ideal field and pays much better than your current job. If you get it, not only will you be furthering your career, but you’ll also be able to get out of the credit card debt that’s been drowning you. Not to mention your commute will drop from forty-five to fifteen minutes. It’s everything you’ve been looking for. When you sit down for your interview (in your ironed outfit, of course), your instinct will be to express just how enthusiastic you are about the position. You’ve already spent weeks fantasizing about what your life will be like once you get that job. Now you just want to spill all that energy out in front of the person who can actually give it to you. Do not succumb to that instinct. Do, however, express in no uncertain terms that you are interested in the job. Make it clear that, in the event you accept it, you are confident you could not only meet but exceed expectations for the position. But do not ever give the impression that you “need” that job or that you are “dying for it”—even if that’s exactly what you’re feeling. You must suppress that instinct because of this fundamental truth: neediness is a turnoff to everyone except the...

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts. —NIKKI GIOVANNI

Don’t look at failure as something you need to distance yourself from. Try to embrace it instead. Wrap your hands around it and examine it. Believe that you can use it to rebuild your idea and take it to an even higher level than you’d originally conceived. That’s the approach all true winners take. It’s the attitude Honda possessed when he said, “My biggest thrill is when I plan something and it fails. My mind is then filled with ideas on how I can improve it.” Think about that. He didn’t look at failing as a setback or a defeat. He called it a “thrill.” Something to be excited about. Imagine if you could view your own life that way. Nothing would ever be able to get you off your game.

What we need to do is flip the concept. Instead of worrying about “holding that L,” focus on “learning from that L” instead. Because your Ls are where your greatest instructions will always be found.

In this country, it seems like we resent having to hustle for success.

My answer is to take a little bit of your money and fly to Africa to visit the kids I spent time with at that school. Or meet with the kids in the Middle East, Asia, or South America who are living in similar situations. When you experience the energy these kids have in the face of so much oppression, you’ll realize how it’s not about your work ethic versus someone else’s lack of one. It’s about recognizing that you’ve been blessed to be able to apply your work ethic in a country with as many opportunities as America has.

But one of the greatest mistakes people can make is becoming comfortable with their fears. Whatever is worrying me, I meet it head-on and engage it until the situation is resolved. My refusal to become comfortable with fear gives me an advantage in almost every situation.

Hustlin’ might be associated with selling drugs, but it’s actually a character trait that’s shared by winners in every profession. Steve Jobs was as much of a hustler at Apple as I was when I was on the streets. The key to building up that trait in your own personality is accepting that you’re never hustling toward a certain goal. Hustlin’ is a motor that’s got to be running inside of you each and every day. And its fuel is passion. If you can keep that motor running, it will take you everywhere you want to go in life.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO COMPETE Some people try to portray me as a troll, or a bully, but that’s not accurate. My first instinct is always to build positive and mutually beneficial relationships with people. But if someone isn’t interested in being friends with me, I’m more than comfortable being enemies with them.

AVOID THE ENTITLEMENT TRAP Nothing was ever given to me in life. I’ve had to fight for everything I’ve earned. That’s why the concept of entitlement has never seeped into my mentality. But almost everywhere I look—from the streets to the boardrooms—I still see a lot of entitled people. You’re never going to find lasting success until you take full responsibility for what happens in your life. No one owes you anything. Just as you don’t owe anyone else. Once you accept that fundamental truth and accept that you control your journey, so many doors that seemed closed are going to open up in front of you.