In 2015 I stumbled across this illustration by the artist Joey Roth, and I instantly adopted it as a governing life philosophy. While it may seem reductionistic or brash, it’s a helpful tool for categorizing mindsets and behaviors. It’s a spectrum that we can jump between at any given time, and no state is permanent. At the end of the day, the mindset that wins out above all is that of the hustler.
Charlatans
We all know a few charlatans. These are the ones who always have their heads stuck in the clouds, dreaming of things without ever doing any of the work. They talk a big game but have nothing to back it up.
They have tricked themselves into thinking that they have already achieved something just by thinking about doing it. Charlatans are the easiest to spot because they are, to put it plainly, full of shit.
They are all talk, to the point that they could probably talk themselves into or out of anything. But when the rubber meets the road, they fail to deliver, and always have an elaborate excuse for why they didn’t deliver.
If vaporware was a person it’d be the charlatan, and organizations suffer when they entertain charlatans because nothing is ever built.
Martyrs
The martyr is the most common path in professional and personal life. We grew up watching movies that told us, “If you build it, they will come.”
This is simply not true in the vast majority of cases, so people fall into a rut by slaving away for companies, situations, and people who will never recognize their greatness because martyrs are missing the talk factor.
They become jaded, resentful, and the chips on the shoulder grow so large that they eventually topple over. Martyrdom is extremely selfish, because it keeps greatness hidden under a facade of false humility.
Organizations suffer when martyrs become addicted to their victim mentality and stop contributing their high value.
Hustlers
The hustler gets things done. They are style and substance. They are all work and all talk. The hustler mentality has three features:
The hustler understands that the foundation of everything is quality work that brings value.
The hustler understands that the work will never speak for itself. You must speak for it.
The hustler is not shy or afraid to bring attention to work they believe in. The talking is about the work and its value, not getting attention for attention’s sake.
As opposed to the charlatans who desire influence for its own sake, or the martyrs who are too bitter to talk earnestly about their value, hustlers thrive as a natural outcome of their comfort in advocating for the high value work they believe in. Hustlers don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves because they’re too busy creating a new reality, nor do they slip into megalomania because their main focus is on creating high value first. It’s never about their own acclaim, but their undying restlessness to create and embody greatness that drives them forward, which creates positive natural outcomes for themselves and the organizations they serve.
I think of this illustration often (I see it every day actually, since I have the hustler portion tattooed on my arm) and use it as a gut check for my mindset. Being honest with ourselves about how we are approaching both our work and how we are talking about our work can help unlock potential that otherwise would waste away. Always hustle, because hustle always wins.