HUSTLERS

The word is a strip club, some dance while others toss money, watch and drink, as others do the gritty dance and grind to the music. The world is a stage, where everyone gives their performance and in the end they are either applauded or not.

Often times, ovation is loudest where you put in your best to prove yourself worthy and deserving of it. People get accolades here and there for achieving something big or doing a particular thing well. If not everyone, most people seek after getting the loudest ovation, quest for the accolades and words of praise. For instance in Nigeria, if a pop musician sings about you, you are either doing something right or wrong. But, most importantly you are affecting people it seems you are relevant.

There is usually a ladder, some at the utmost top, some at the bottom, and others in the middle. Those at the top are usually the ones with the clean hands who receive the loudest ovation and toss money here and there while those below do the gritty work and get their hands dirty. It is a social ladder some relax in their current location, some strive for more.

There is this notion people have when you mention the word “hustle” and they’ll go; “hustling is not for me o, it is not my portion, I will never hustle”. Well, there is need to understand that hustling is not struggling and they are not one and the same thing. A person, who struggles, strives for daily meal alone, how to maintain and manage their current situation. Such persons are contented with their present situation and do not look forward to something bigger or better. Such persons are contented with the status quo and do not seek for more.

A struggler is an average student that does not open his or her book until the night before the examination and fail to sleep only to keep getting the average score and nothing over 50. A struggler is that woman who sells tomatoes in the market and doesn’t think of expansion but to buy the same amount of tomatoes daily and sell the same amount daily, sometimes, even lesser. A struggler is that man who works at a departmental store as a sales rep and does not think about developing himself, lives in the same old house, wears the same old dress and shoes, drives the same old car, if he has, keep paying bills and debts till death comes. Often times, a struggler dies a struggler, when they fail to see the light and realize that there is got to be more than what they see. Have you ever looked in the mirror at yourself, judging from your looks, your stature, your features and felt that there’s got to be more than this for me to be created by God, looking this way, it means he has more in store for me. The spirit of hustling sets in when you see yourself to be more than what you are, when you have a dream of the bigger picture of who you are and work towards it. Hustling as well as struggling never stops or ends till death when you are an aspirer. Hustling is about having a thirst to be more; it is about striving for better.

A hustler is that guy who runs after vehicles to sell gala in the Oshodi Lagos traffic daily and at night gets online education through edx in any university, trains himself in various aspects. On Sundays after church, goes to the barbers shop to learn how to style men hair, saves his gala proceeds to get barbing equipments, strives hard and in the next five years after education, gets employment and proceeds again with his hustle.

A hustler is that young teenage girl, learning fashion designing and eventually opens a shop, not having any means or hope of formal education and creates good designs and clothes. She works hard to put herself out there, running after those that doubt her abilities and soon she becomes a celebrity stylist and afterwards a household name.

Hustling is not a negative thing. In fact, it is rather a positive thing. It's a verb,a doing word we must all do.