The Downsides of Working on After-Hours Hustle(s) I Hear No One Speak of

Well. Let me be honest, okay?

The internet is filled with overwhelming possibilities.

• You can do this to get rich.
• You ought to do that to get out of the rat race.
• You must try this out because you earn $20,000 in a month.

Yadda, yadda.

But let’s be honest.

Money does not fall on our lap. It never did. It never will.

It takes time, effort, energy, and ultimately work. It applies online. It does so offline.

If you believe otherwise, then I must say this.

You have been taken for a ride.

There Are Facts, And There Are Life Experiences.

Many people I know get things backward.

They need facts to convince them before taking action. And actions enrich their life experiences.

To me, the reverse is true.

Life experiences come first. And then facts represent our outcomes.

Here’s why.

There is no point celebrating facts or statistics we are not part of. Of course, we are happy that the world has minted one more billionaire in the past month. But we yawn and move on. Don’t we?

It has nothing to do with us.

The same thinking ought to be applied to online success.

Millions and billions of people are trying to cash out from the internet. I guarantee.

• Food delivery guys focusing on their app for the next food order.
• Mobile game designers planning their next step to monetize their free-to-play games.
• Online writers use their words to capture subscribers and sell them digital products.

I have huge respect for these gals and pals. It is not easy. The internet is the world’s biggest marketplace. It is also the world’s largest competition arena.

There is always someone, somewhere, doing something remotely similar. I am not surprised. Not one bit.

Creativity is rare.

Success? Rare, too.

Do you want to carve out a niche that is resilient to competition? Do you want to build a sustained monopoly of work and sales online?

• Step one — Forget all the sexy thoughts all influencers with a giant following put in your head.
• Step two — Don’t read any content written by them online.
• Step three — Observe what they do.

In short, avoid paying attention to their mouths.

Watch their hands.

I am saying this because the internet is notorious for content asymmetry.

Everyone writes about the good stuff.

Almost no one shares their downfall.

I will.

The After-Hours Hustles Myth

Time to burst it.

There are 2 guaranteed outcomes when it comes to work. It applies to our 9–6. It applies to our after-hours.

• Success.
• Failure.

Of course, the measure of success is highly individual. I won’t debate that.

Let me use a broadly accepted common measure. Money.

You may tell yourself you want to earn an additional $5,000 monthly from your after-hours. You are sick and tired of your day job. It is time to cut your teeth outside.

Sure. You have my deep admiration.

Most importantly, you must fire your first shot.

I did.

And if you do, you will inevitably experience the same ups and downs as I did.

• Customers come and go.
• Subscribers come today and go phantom in 2 months.
• Your hustle earnings wobble. The first month +$100. The next month +$50. And then +$120.
• Starting a business with chums? Be prepared to lose them when the journey gets tough.
• If you trade the financial markets, prepare for losses that come your way. It will.

I’ve been through the whole nine yards.

And it has taught me the following.

• Nothing is for sure.
• When you win — Celebrate.
• When you suffer in hell — Keep going.

You must have that insatiable, desperate desire for a life you yearn for to carry yourself through the desert of infinite failures.

Because that is all you have when times are tough.

You will be mentally washed out.

I know. Because I’ve been there.

These days, I commit 15 hours max. Then I walk away.

There is no point pushing 20 and then collapsing tomorrow.

Because when burnout happens, all my after-hours hustle suffers.

Not one, not two, not three.

All. And that is a bad idea.

The Close

The internet presents all the good things in life.

Everyone is a brilliant marketer.

They know that success stories leave a long tail. Stories about failures? No one reads them.

Why not? That is easy to understand.

Even I don’t read them.

My daily life is tough enough. When I tap onto the internet, I want something different.

I want hope. Hope that there is a better life out there. Hope that one day I will get there.

That is how we get caught.

Don’t. Be discerning.

Nothing is ever that easy.

If you think following an influencer will allow you to $20,000 a month, ask yourself these questions.

• How much money did they lose?
• How long did they take to get here?
• How many failures did they suffer from?
• How many hours did they commit to their multiple after-hours hustles?

You will know what to do next.

Stay level-headed, people.

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