3 Things More Important than #Hustle for Success in Business

This just completely blew my mind.

Did you know that the hashtag #hustle has been used on 13,425,024 Instagram posts? I'm sitting here trying to comprehend the absurdness of that fact. The crazy part is, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Below, you will find a comprehensive list of hashtags on Instagram featuring the tag #hustle.

• #hustleandflow - 72,024

• #hustlehard - 2,143,095

• #hustle100 - 33,214

• #hustlequotes - 35,905

• #hustleforthemuscle - 51,345

• #hustledontstop - 20,018

I need to stop there. The list goes on and on and on. We haven't even looked at Twitter or Facebook. This is just wrong.

I have been an entrepreneur long enough to have learned some valuable lessons.

My experience has taught me that hustle is not even close to the most important factor in succeeding in business. I feel really strongly about this because it is discouraging to me to see so many young kids buying into the lifestyle and convincing themselves that if they act this way it will equate to success.

Kids... if you're reading this, I beg of you to read this carefully. Everything I am about to tell you is true.

Sleep is More Important than #Hustle

That guy you follow on YouTube. The one who is telling you that he doesn't sleep or that he takes no days off or that his hustle is 24/7. That guy is either an anomaly of the population who needs less sleep than others, or he is hiding the awful side effects of not sleeping right. Either way, you shouldn't try to be like him.

Sleep is really important. In fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine did a national study on college students and the correlation between good grades and sleep. What do you think the results of the study were?

When you don't sleep right, you are literally taking years off your life and you are taking fuel out of your system. Your body is a machine and machines need to cool down. More importantly, your brain needs to decompress. In many ways, sleep is more important for your brain than it is for your body.

Being clear minded and being in control of your thoughts (and your emotions) is 10 times more important than working till 3 am. There's no question.

Are there going to be long nights? Are there going to be days when you are tired and sleep deprived? Of course there is. Building a business is hard and some days you will need to grind it out. But to deprive your body of sleep will not help.

You should appreciate your body enough to give it the sleep it needs.

Focus is More Important than #Hustle

Recently, I have been on an amazing journey in regards to focus.

In the hours of 5am - 9am, I get more done than in the rest of the day combined. In this "magic hour" there is no one emailing me, there are no notifications on my phone. It is a time when I can truly focus. When I can start a project and I can finish it without interruption.

Being able to focus throughout a busy work day is a skill I am intently working on. I have been practicing the art of blocking out periods of time that are dedicated to completing a singular task. I dedicate myself to being productive.

Focus beats hustle every time because hustle usually consists of multi tasking. Every time I try to do too much I end up getting nothing done at all.

This is the problem with the #hustle culture. It's more about being busy than it is about being productive. Busyness is a straight path to failure. You will achieve better results by doing 4 hours of concentrated work than 20 hours of hustle.

Less Instagram. Less Facebook. Less selfies. Work when you work. Focus more on producing a result and less on hustling.

You don't have to take my word for it. Just try it. It will change everything.

Good Health is More Important than #Hustle

When you deprive your body of health you are stealing from your own future.

You don't have to sacrifice your health for success. You can have both. You really can. You can have good health and have success in business. In fact, the better you take care of yourself the better your chances of success are!

This always reminds me of a quote by the Dalai Lama.

You are better off having a strong body and a strong mind. You should be in it for the long haul. It's just a simple fact of nature that sprinting is an inefficient use of energy. The race is long, so give yourself the chance to win and take care of your body.

Workout hard. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. Eat lots of vegetables. Avoid pasta and bread. Stop drinking soda right now. Lift weights. Meditate. Worship your god and move your body as much as possible.

When people start to treat their bodies right their entire worlds will come alive. You will discover feelings and vibrancy that you forgot existed.

Hustle will rob you of your health. Hustle will have you eating fast food and running into the gas station for a red bull. Hustle will burn you out... guaranteed.

Bringing It All Together

There is a running joke in my office about #hustle. I've never made a public statement about it because I don't believe in bringing other people down. But the more I see this kind of thing permeating in culture, the more it concerns me. I see so many young people buying into this marketing spiel of hustle and it bothers me. Because it's a lie. It's inaccurate. Worst of all, it's just bad advice.

To be successful in business or entrepreneurship does not require hustle. That is the last thing you should be worrying about. What you need to worry about is production.

So work hard! Yes! Work really hard.

Be persistent. Be relentless. Be on the offensive.

Be methodical. Be deliberate. Have intention behind your work and the results you wish to carry forth. Write a list of your goals and then write a process on how to get there. When your day is done, stop working. After your work, eat dinner and spend time with your family. Go for a run and read a good book. Prepare for the next day and then attack.

It's not about being busy. It's not about hustling. It's about reaching a pinnacle point of effectiveness and delivering work on time.

Most of all, please stop using hashtag #hustle on Instagram.