Stop Talking About Side Hustles
Keep tunnel vision until you make it
It seems to me that over the past few years “side hustles” have become more and more glorified.
I’d like to offer a different viewpoint though. Why not spend some time deciding on one very valuable skill you would like to work on, then devoting all your time to that?
I’m not here to say that if you are really in need of extra money, you shouldn’t be doing what you need to make ends meet. However, what I am saying is that instead of focusing your effort on 3–4+ different things, why not focus on one and become one of the best at it?
Think about it, if instead of spending years doing a bunch of different things, spend a few years intently focused on improving in one valuable area. Then, by building up a solid set of demonstrable skills and a reputation for those skills, you can let the rewards of your hard work speak for themselves and continue to benefit you over time. At that point you can move onto working on another skill to put yourself in a continually better position.
The process for learning new skills
is simple but not easy. The key variable people don’t take into account is the time needed to become proficient at something. You can’t expect to be at the top of a field after only a few weeks or months of working on something. In general, it takes 3–6 months to make something a habit and “get good” at it. At that point, you can really begin to apply your skills in practical situations and start to make mistakes that give you invaluable experience.
In order to truly “master” a skill, it is generally accepted that it takes around 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. However, there is a lot of room in between 0 and 10,000 hours. Many people get caught up in the extremes, but if you can put in a few thousand hours over the course of a few years you can quickly become one of the best, even if you don’t reach “mastery” of a skill.
Now consider this: There are multiple “side hustles” that when combined could make you a few extra thousand dollars a month, nobody is denying that. But imagine if that time was instead spent focusing in on one high income skill that could earn you tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more a year (or a month!).
I’m a fan of playing the long game and not getting distracted by short term wins and rewards. If you become an expert in a certain field and have a trail of work to prove it, then that work will continue to bring you income, opportunities, and benefits over time.
For example, imagine if you spent 3–4 years becoming the best writer you could possibly be. Eventually, your work will continue to get views, reads, and shares which will bring you income without you having to do much. Additionally, it will give you a solid channel to market your brand and your business to others.
People think that you need to have hundreds of thousands of view or followers, but consider this:
If you have a dedicated fan base of 1,000 people, who are all willing to support you and consume your courses, articles, emails, etc. for only $100, that is $100,000! That right there can be life changing money, especially if it comes in just a month or two.
Now contrast that against a combination of doing door dash, filling out consumer surveys, taking on a part time job, etc. Sure that could be a nice chunk of change, but imagine the time you are trading to get there. Time is the most precious resource we have that we can’t get more of.
Spending 2–3 years dedicating yourself
to becoming very proficient at a certain skill seems daunting, but in the grand scheme of things it is not a lot of time. In a 10 year window you can completely change your life in a multitude of ways, and bring up others around you as well so you all can continue doing well together.
When you do well for yourself, and then help others do better, you all end up growing together and at a much faster pace than you would on your own. So don’t forget to give back if you become fortunate enough to do well for yourself.
Hopefully this helps you realize that by dedicating yourself over time to learning skills that are valuable to society, you can set yourself up much better than by spending most of your time doing various “side hustles”. Dedicate enough time to something, and with deliberate practice you can become one of the best and change your life in ways you never thought possible.
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