The Hustle Series: Part II

Are you still focusing on the word hustle as something illegal? I hope not. But just in case you still are...here's another short story for you to think about.

     "A young man has a valet job at a five star restaurant. He was good at parking cars. He is respectful to the customers and very careful with the cars. He likes his job but parking cars is not his goal in life. He has a dream to eventually run his own car detailing company. The only problem is that starting your own business requires money; money he doesn't have right now. And since the bank wouldn't approve his small business loan application, he had to go another route to get the money.
      That is why he started cleaning the cars of the regular customers of the restaurant. He made sure the cars were clean and smelled good. He made sure that they were finished by the time the customers were finished eating. All of the hard work he put into cleaning the cars was with the hope that the customers would notice the cleanliness and tip extra in appreciation. He enjoyed his job and took pride in everything he did. The young man just wanted others to appreciate his work as well.
     You see, life is about rolling with the punches and being able to adjust to any situation. Only he could turn the negative into a positive. Only he could take advantage of the opportunity put in front of him. Only he could accept the extraordinary things given to him."

I, you, us, we...all are given the extraordinary thoughts, visions and knowledge that God wanted us to have in order to survive. I, you, us, we...all have the hope needed for a better position in life, family and or career. We make our own decisions. We choose what road we are going to follow in order to be happy and successful! And you don't have to do anything illegal to achieve these goals!!
     

The HUSTLE Series: Part I

Hustle by definition: is to obtain by energetic activity; to sell or promote energetically and aggressively. I don't know about you but this definition provided by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is not the meaning of hustle that I know. The meaning of hustle in the street-the real world is to sell or take something illegally.

When people hear or think of the word hustle, they associate the word with something illegal or associate it with a "street thug" dealing drugs, bootlegging or stealing. But have you ever tried to think of the word hustle in a positive and constructive manner? I mean, a person's hustle can be a legal and legitimate activity? Picture the word hustle:
                                                   Hope
                                                   Universal
                                                   Survival
                                                   Terrific
                                                   Legitimate
                                                   Extraordinary

You are probably wondering how the word hustle can be positive? Well, here's a little story for you to help explain.

     "A young man works 6 days a week, for fifteen years of his life as a mechanic. After, fifteen years of dedication and hard work, he lost his job. He has a wife and two kids. The light bill is already past due, the mortgage payment is due and food is low. He's been looking for work but no one is hiring right now. all of these bills, four mouths to feed and no way to satisfy either is enough to drive someone crazy! So crazy in fact, that getting involved in prostitution and selling drugs sounds like a quick, easy money and a solution to his problem. But it's not a good, smart or feasible solution. the severity of the consequences outweigh the temporary benefits.
     So, the mechanic started brainstorming and decided to turn his garage into a car repair shop. Good idea but it's not a money maker overnight, especially if there are no cars that need fixing or people that can't afford the repairs. After a lot of thought, the mechanic came up with an unthinkable plan...teach car repair! With trade schools being so expensive, why not start his own trade school for those who want to learn to fix cars?
      The mechanic knew a guy with a junkyard. This would supply the broke-down cars and the spare parts that would be needed. in the process of teaching, cars would get repaired and then sold. The profits would be split between the mechanic and the junkyard owner. you see, Survival helped the mechanic come up with the idea for the trade school, Hope helped him to keep his faith in God and the friend with the junkyard was a Terrific resource!"

Still think hustle is a negative word and a way of life? Keep a look out for more of the hustle series. You'll be surprised at what you will learn and come to appreciate!!