If You Are Being Out-Hustled

If there is one thing that is 100 percent within your control, it is your effort.

You control how hard you work. Not your manager. Not your leader. Not anyone else. No one can or will stop you from working hard. The effort you make here is yours alone. If it isn’t enough, it’s all you.

You control how many hours you work, too. The time you invest in work each day has nothing to do with your scheduled hours. It has nothing to do with whether you are paid hourly, salary, or straight commission. You can work as much as you want—or as little.

The work that you decide to do is all up to you. This is true even if you have a day job. You can do your life’s work at 5:00 AM in the morning, when there is no one on earth who wants your time. You can work at 10:00 PM when other people are going to sleep. Like effort and time, the work you do is all you.

If you are being out-hustled, it’s because you are allowing it.

If someone is working harder than you are, they’re likely to produce more and better results. Even if they aren’t as smart, talented, educated, or well-connected as you.

That someone who is working more hours doesn’t have one single hour more than you do each day. It’s just that they are investing their hours differently. Everyone has things that they have to do. And they always find time for the things they believe are most important. Right now, how you are spending your time is an indication of what is most important.

There are very few things in life that are 100 percent within your control. Your belief system is one of them. Your attitude is another. What kind of effort you make is also one of the few things you can control.