The Hustler’s Playbook: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Non-hustlers suffer from a case of mistaken identity.

Non-hustlers believe that they are limited by the circumstances of their birth, that they were literally born with some natural limits. And most of the examples they see around them lead them to conclude that this is true. They see people without the things in life that they want or need, and they believe that is their lot in life.

Non-hustlers also believe that they are their past decisions, and that they can be nothing more. Well, not all their past decisions, just the bad decisions. They define themselves by their failures, deleting the memories of the times that they succeeded. They don’t believe that their future can be different because of their past.

Non-hustlers also believe that other people are allowed to determine their place for them. They believe that they need someone else’s permission or blessing in order to be something more than they are. They believe that without the sheepskin, they can’t do what they really want to do. They believe they need someone to certify them. They believe that their future is not something that is in their control.

Hustlers also suffer from a case of mistaken identity. But the hustler’s mistaken identity is quite different.

The hustler doesn’t feel that the circumstances of their birth limit them. Instead, they believe that they are somehow special, that they were born to do something.

The hustler doesn’t believe that their past defines their future either. The negative events, experiences, and failures were all just lessons that they learned along the way. They believe that they were something better the whole way, even if they made missteps along that path.

And hustlers don’t believe they need anyone’s permission to be the biggest, best version of themselves, that version they’ve seen in their mind’s eye forever. They don’t need to be validated, given permission, or certified by some governing body to become who they have always been deep inside.

The non-hustler mistakenly believes they are somehow smaller than they really are. The hustler believes that they are somehow bigger than they really are. And in both cases, these visions become their reality.