This is a paper I wrote for school this morning. Seemed fitting here. Feel free to change each instance of Hustler to Don juan. Cheers.
All people can be broken down into two categories. Those who are Hustlers and those who are Slackers. A Hustler is someone that isn’t restricted by the supposed limitations of their external environment and of their socially conditioned internal environment. A Slacker is a person that merely does what is expected of them. A Slacker does not push the boundaries nor achieve all that is possible. The great names were all Hustlers: Einstein, Gates, Napoleon, Muir, Asimov. The Slackers are forgotten; the nameless myriads of people merely floating through life. Hustlers run this world and enact change, make their dreams into reality, and grasp the opportunities for growth that are prevalent in every moment. Slackers are merely a trailer being pulled by the whims of society on the road of life.
Schooling is where the modern world begins. K-12 and beyond. This is where minds are molded; where lives are molded. I do not mean simply based on academic excellence. This means nothing as can be seen by the great names that dropped out of school and pursued other interests. In fact society’s obsession with attributing worth to academic excellence is a debilitating plague upon its youths, but I digress. This time of youth is a period of lax responsibilities. Without the burdens of providing for oneself, the possibilities that can be achieved during this time are severely underestimated. Hustlers, however do not underestimate them. Hustlers acknowledge the knowledge that is disseminated during their schooling; however they seek external education by reading and doing. After official school hours are over, Hustlers are free to pursue their own interests and obsessions. Like the great physicist Feynman who built a chemistry and electrical lab in his garage to learn how the world worked or the young kid who comes home to his guitar, realizing the depths of imagination through rhythmic vibrations.
Other Hustlers use this time to grow mentally and spiritually: to destroy the self-imposed boundaries that have been erected. The child who grew up shy and afraid and now, as a teenager, converses with any person he sees for human interaction is simply another way to grow and learn of others and of oneself. This was achieved by introspectively understanding the limitations of their perception of reality: by turning the doorknob of that limitation and stepping past it. This is thriving. Slackers do not thrive rather only live, if it can be called that at all. In school they may do well with grades or may not. If so, likely, in order to please the expectations of their parents and of society. Outside of school, their education ceases. Books are not read. Videogames and other non-productive time wasters consume their life. Their existence is innocuous. Slackers do not see their shortcomings as variable and malleable but rather concrete and unalterable.
Our subjects grow up. No longer in schooling and provided for by their families they have entered the professional world. The Slacker has through virtue of his efforts regarding academic grades entered a seemingly respectable 9-5 job with good pay. What follows is a nice house and a nice car. Society would deem this person as successful. I disagree. They are unhappy with their job, it is not fulfilling to their soul’s yearnings. With a distinct lack of hobbies, they are indistinguishable from the plethora of others who followed the exact same path. The mental boundaries enacted in their youth are still prevalent preventing them from growing beyond them. Or perhaps the Slacker does not have a “respectable” job due to his lack of efforts or lack of unique skills. Struggling to pay the bills, this person is now a prisoner of their job, of their own life. Neither of our examples is truly happy. Happiness may be a façade created by the use of drugs or of self-fulfilling entertainment.
Our Hustler however, may have dropped out of school but is pursuing their passion. Like Zuckerburg who dropped out of Harvard to create Facebook, he is now one of the youngest billionaires. This man found a passion in his youth and followed it, nurtured it. For Zuckerburg it was programming, for Hendrix it was guitar. They took a unique skill they loved and made a living out of it. Others may have completed their schooling but are nonetheless following their passions. What truly brings them joy. Like John Muir, a simple man who was obsessed with nature. He is the reason America has so many National and State Conservation Areas for our enjoyment. They may not be successful in our society’s eyes, but these Hustlers have overcome the naysayers and hecklers who told them their dreams were not possible. One man’s passion may be living solitarily in the woods for his whole life. This is surely not a “productive” or “successful” way of life according to modern society. But this man, this Hustler, is doing what makes him happy, truly happy; for he smiles down to the very fabric of his being.
Observe the Hustler’s mind. It is in constant flux, growing and restructuring its preconceived notions. It destroys the ideas that are not conducive to their dreams and nurtures the beliefs that are. This is distinctly opposite of the Slacker who assumes their mental boundaries and structure are permanent. As a person grows up, their surroundings and upbringings initiate the guidelines their personality and mind will follow. A kid who was ridiculed by her classmates becomes fearful of human interaction and she continues to be afraid of opening herself to others for his entire life. She is afraid of what people might think of her. This is a plague! While the fear of ridicule or punishment is necessary to enforce the standards that society has regarding such things as how to treat others, this has grown into a malignant cancer slowly consuming the possibilities every life possesses!
The guitarist by night who dares not attempt to make a career out of it because his family or society believes that it is a waste of time and can’t be utilized in that purpose. Hustlers understand that there are no limits. All limitation is created by the self. 12 years of schooling before college? How about going to college after 9th grade? Degree in four years? How about 1 year. There is no speed limit. While the former example may not be advantageous to the growth of the 9th grader’s personality, the fact is that it is possible. As with the guitarist, there will always be bystanders who claim he is not worthy, not proficient enough. These pessimistic Slackers are merely jealous of what the Hustler’s life has in store! Slackers live their lives constricted by fear. Hustlers are not afraid. Hustler’s know it is better to have lived and to have failed time and time again than to have never failed thus not lived at all.
The categorization of Hustler or Slacker is not distinct. No one is entirely one or the other. Each person is a varying degree of each. Furthermore, it is not an all encompassing title. In each area of a person’s life one is either a Slacker or a Hustler. One may be a Hustler in their business pursuits, a Slacker in their friendships. This may be exactly what this person desires. If so, more power to them. Become who you want to be, for no one is stopping you but yourself. You have the ability to be a Hustler in every area of your life: to be a chapter in the book of history rather than a speck of dust upon it’s pages.
All people can be broken down into two categories. Those who are Hustlers and those who are Slackers. A Hustler is someone that isn’t restricted by the supposed limitations of their external environment and of their socially conditioned internal environment. A Slacker is a person that merely does what is expected of them. A Slacker does not push the boundaries nor achieve all that is possible. The great names were all Hustlers: Einstein, Gates, Napoleon, Muir, Asimov. The Slackers are forgotten; the nameless myriads of people merely floating through life. Hustlers run this world and enact change, make their dreams into reality, and grasp the opportunities for growth that are prevalent in every moment. Slackers are merely a trailer being pulled by the whims of society on the road of life.
Schooling is where the modern world begins. K-12 and beyond. This is where minds are molded; where lives are molded. I do not mean simply based on academic excellence. This means nothing as can be seen by the great names that dropped out of school and pursued other interests. In fact society’s obsession with attributing worth to academic excellence is a debilitating plague upon its youths, but I digress. This time of youth is a period of lax responsibilities. Without the burdens of providing for oneself, the possibilities that can be achieved during this time are severely underestimated. Hustlers, however do not underestimate them. Hustlers acknowledge the knowledge that is disseminated during their schooling; however they seek external education by reading and doing. After official school hours are over, Hustlers are free to pursue their own interests and obsessions. Like the great physicist Feynman who built a chemistry and electrical lab in his garage to learn how the world worked or the young kid who comes home to his guitar, realizing the depths of imagination through rhythmic vibrations.
Other Hustlers use this time to grow mentally and spiritually: to destroy the self-imposed boundaries that have been erected. The child who grew up shy and afraid and now, as a teenager, converses with any person he sees for human interaction is simply another way to grow and learn of others and of oneself. This was achieved by introspectively understanding the limitations of their perception of reality: by turning the doorknob of that limitation and stepping past it. This is thriving. Slackers do not thrive rather only live, if it can be called that at all. In school they may do well with grades or may not. If so, likely, in order to please the expectations of their parents and of society. Outside of school, their education ceases. Books are not read. Videogames and other non-productive time wasters consume their life. Their existence is innocuous. Slackers do not see their shortcomings as variable and malleable but rather concrete and unalterable.
Our subjects grow up. No longer in schooling and provided for by their families they have entered the professional world. The Slacker has through virtue of his efforts regarding academic grades entered a seemingly respectable 9-5 job with good pay. What follows is a nice house and a nice car. Society would deem this person as successful. I disagree. They are unhappy with their job, it is not fulfilling to their soul’s yearnings. With a distinct lack of hobbies, they are indistinguishable from the plethora of others who followed the exact same path. The mental boundaries enacted in their youth are still prevalent preventing them from growing beyond them. Or perhaps the Slacker does not have a “respectable” job due to his lack of efforts or lack of unique skills. Struggling to pay the bills, this person is now a prisoner of their job, of their own life. Neither of our examples is truly happy. Happiness may be a façade created by the use of drugs or of self-fulfilling entertainment.
Our Hustler however, may have dropped out of school but is pursuing their passion. Like Zuckerburg who dropped out of Harvard to create Facebook, he is now one of the youngest billionaires. This man found a passion in his youth and followed it, nurtured it. For Zuckerburg it was programming, for Hendrix it was guitar. They took a unique skill they loved and made a living out of it. Others may have completed their schooling but are nonetheless following their passions. What truly brings them joy. Like John Muir, a simple man who was obsessed with nature. He is the reason America has so many National and State Conservation Areas for our enjoyment. They may not be successful in our society’s eyes, but these Hustlers have overcome the naysayers and hecklers who told them their dreams were not possible. One man’s passion may be living solitarily in the woods for his whole life. This is surely not a “productive” or “successful” way of life according to modern society. But this man, this Hustler, is doing what makes him happy, truly happy; for he smiles down to the very fabric of his being.
Observe the Hustler’s mind. It is in constant flux, growing and restructuring its preconceived notions. It destroys the ideas that are not conducive to their dreams and nurtures the beliefs that are. This is distinctly opposite of the Slacker who assumes their mental boundaries and structure are permanent. As a person grows up, their surroundings and upbringings initiate the guidelines their personality and mind will follow. A kid who was ridiculed by her classmates becomes fearful of human interaction and she continues to be afraid of opening herself to others for his entire life. She is afraid of what people might think of her. This is a plague! While the fear of ridicule or punishment is necessary to enforce the standards that society has regarding such things as how to treat others, this has grown into a malignant cancer slowly consuming the possibilities every life possesses!
The guitarist by night who dares not attempt to make a career out of it because his family or society believes that it is a waste of time and can’t be utilized in that purpose. Hustlers understand that there are no limits. All limitation is created by the self. 12 years of schooling before college? How about going to college after 9th grade? Degree in four years? How about 1 year. There is no speed limit. While the former example may not be advantageous to the growth of the 9th grader’s personality, the fact is that it is possible. As with the guitarist, there will always be bystanders who claim he is not worthy, not proficient enough. These pessimistic Slackers are merely jealous of what the Hustler’s life has in store! Slackers live their lives constricted by fear. Hustlers are not afraid. Hustler’s know it is better to have lived and to have failed time and time again than to have never failed thus not lived at all.
The categorization of Hustler or Slacker is not distinct. No one is entirely one or the other. Each person is a varying degree of each. Furthermore, it is not an all encompassing title. In each area of a person’s life one is either a Slacker or a Hustler. One may be a Hustler in their business pursuits, a Slacker in their friendships. This may be exactly what this person desires. If so, more power to them. Become who you want to be, for no one is stopping you but yourself. You have the ability to be a Hustler in every area of your life: to be a chapter in the book of history rather than a speck of dust upon it’s pages.
