“hustle harder”

Hustle culture — the modern gospel of tireless ambition.

The idea that if you just work yourself to the bone, success is inevitable.

It’s a beautiful lie — one that pulls us in with the promise of prosperity but often leaves us burnt out, empty, and wondering where all that sacrifice actually led.

We’re taught to believe that the more we grind, the closer we get to freedom.

But a lot of times, all we’re really doing is feeding a machine that was never built to set us free.

I'm not against the spirit of hard work. I've dedicated countless hours to my craft, and I have immense respect for anyone who pours themselves into something with sincerity. But somewhere along the way, we were sold a dangerous half-truth — that success is reserved only for those who sacrifice everything, all the time.

The world, in its vastness, doesn’t adhere to such rigid terms. One moment, you could be living in complete obscurity; the next, a single conversation, a chance meeting, or a spark of opportunity could alter the course of your life forever.

The problem with hustle culture isn’t ambition.

It’s the way ambition gets hijacked — twisted into this belief that if you’re not suffering, you’re not worthy.

We’re handed this dream: work yourself to death now, live later.

But the only ones who profit from that dream are the ones selling it. 

The businesses, the influencers, the companies, the machine itself —they’re the ones cashing in, while the people doing the actual grinding are left depleted, wondering when the payoff is supposed to come.

And the crazy part is, we don’t even realize how deep the conditioning goes.

Most of us didn’t even choose our definition of success.

It was handed to us — through family, through school, through media, and through culture.

Work hard. Get rich. Be somebody.

If we really want something different, we have to step back and get honest.

We have to stop chasing someone else's version of success and start building one that feels real to us.

Success that’s rooted in who we actually are — not who we were told to be.

There are places where mutual respect exists. Where people are valued for their humanity, not just their output. Where the culture encourages growth without demanding your soul in exchange. But even in a good environment, if you’re carrying a broken definition of success inside you, it’s only a matter of time before you burn out again.

The real work is internal.

It’s about choosing a life — and a way of working — that’s actually in sync with our soul.

Because real success isn’t constant hustle.
It’s rhythm.

It’s the ebb and flow of a tide — knowing when to move with urgency and when to rest without guilt. It’s learning how to listen to your own seasons.

There’s a time for sowing and a time for reaping.

A time for building and a time for being still.

And if we can honor that — if we can stop fighting the natural rhythms written into us — we don’t just survive this life.

We flourish.

Our existence mirrors the universe itself.

Expansion and contraction. Day and night. Growth and stillness.

When we learn to trust those cadences — to move when it’s time to move and rest when it’s time to rest —

we stop living as slaves to the machine…

and start living in rhythm with something infinitely bigger.

Something we were always meant to be a part of.