If you want bling or if you want to buy the Jets (football team) – work. That’s how you get it.
Gary Vee – Entrepreneur
Be Gary Vee. Be Elon Musk. So, do you want to be a founder of a tech startup or an entrepreneur? So, what does it take? The founder narrative is legendary.
The Silicon Valley nerd narrative goes like this. You live a monastic life. Your work is your life. You never take a vacation. You seldom date. You never watch TV. You’re the gamer with world class twitch. You’re the crack developer. You’re the startup bro. You’re the girl boss. And, you rule the world. And like all narratives, there are some truth to it. Look at techies like Jobs, Sandberg, Musk, Ma, Reid, etc.
Or look at non-techies like Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary Vee is the complete hustle culture celebrity. Gary Vee evangelizes a mono-maniacal or single focused view of work and success. He’s a judge on the Planet of Apps, where app developers compete for funding to develop the killer app. He’s a media celeb.
New hustle hard gurus have sprung up in almost every country in this world. Hundreds of YouTubers follow their achievements. Hustler is a term of endearment and achievement. The goal of a hustler is to be a maker, do’er, founder, girl leader, and worker for the bling.
An entire industry has sprung up with an internet driven message of the prosperity gospel of work. Start your own company and make a killing. In some ways, this is the dream. Others say, it’s the aspirational vision of millennial and Gen Z generations.
Work Lesson Earned: Check out the ‘Crushing It’ books for bro’s and girl’s. They focus on risk taking and innovation. These books focus on finding a personal competitive advantage to differentiate your personal abilities and skills. These books cross cultures. Gary Vee’s ‘Crushing It’ sounds over the top for much of the West. However, ask Asians what they think? This is their normal as they’re trained to excel. They epitomize 18 hour work days, monomaniacal focus and achievement. Does this change in COVID time?