Here are my favorite hustle quotes.
The value of hustling transcends generations, genders, and ethnicities. It appears to be a universally accepted quality.
1. “Things may come to those who wait … but only the things left by those who hustle.”
Who said it: Abraham Lincoln
My take: I had no idea “hustle” was part of the general lexicon in the mid-19th Century.
Did Honest Abe really utter these words?
Patience is a virtue, but being proactive will get faster results.
2. “I’m from where your hustle determines your salary.”
Who said it: Rick Ross
My take: The harder you work, the more you can make.
3. “Every day I’m hustling.”
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4. “Stay Humble, Hustle Hard.”
Who said it: Unknown.
My take: In the age of “hey, look at me!” social media highlight reels, humility is under-rated. Keep your head down and do your work.
5. “Eat. Sleep. Hustle. Repeat.”
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6. “The dream is free, but the hustle is sold separately.”
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7. “Hustle until your haters ask if you’re hiring.”
8. “Good things happen to those who hustle.”
Who said it: Anais Nin
My take: This is akin to “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” Set yourself up for success by trying new things and putting yourself out there.
I can personally attest that I would not be writing this today if I hadn’t worked my butt off.
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9. “Do or do not; there is no try.”
Who said it: Yoda
My take: Commit, and get it done!
10. “Greatness only comes before hustle in the dictionary.”
Who said it: Ross Simmonds
My take: There are no results without effort.
11. “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
Who said it: Sheryl Sandberg
12. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.”
—George Addair
Side note: I recommend Tim Ferriss’ fear-setting exercise to explore your true worst-case scenarios.
13. “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.”
Who said it: Don Zimmer
My take: Remarkably talented people can get by with less effort, or at least they make it look easy. The rest of us can catch up with hustle.
It levels the playing field. I remember reading this story about a girls basketball team that went full-court-press all game every game. The other teams didn’t know what to do!
14. “Contrary to popular opinion, the hustle is not a new dance step — it is an old business procedure.”
Who said it: Fran Lebowitz
My take: Even though the term “side hustle” is relatively new, the idea is as old as commerce itself.
The 9-5 workday is a product of the Industrial Revolution. Prior to that, most people were entrepreneurs; hustling is in our blood.
15. “I played the game one way. I gave it everything I had. It doesn’t take any ability to hustle.”
Who said it: Wade Boggs
My take: Regardless of your current level of talent, you’re given the same 24 hours in day as everyone else. Hustling simply means making the most of your time with the ability you’ve got.
16. “I love people, and the hustle.”
Who said it: Gary Vaynerchuk
My take: If you love what you’re doing and what you’re working towards, it won’t seem like “work.”
Related: Celebrity side hustles
17. “The best way out is always through.”
―Robert Frost
18. “My hustle is nonstop. I never stop hustling.”
Who said it: Young Jeezy
My take: Thanks for clarifying what “nonstop” means.
19. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
—Michael Jordan
20. “I want the peace in knowing that is wasn’t for lack of hustling that I missed a target for my dream. I want to know that the one thing in my control was under control.”
Who said it: Jon Acuff
My take: I really like this one because it focuses on the one internal thing you can control: your effort. There will be a million outside reasons and excuses for not reaching your goals, but hustle isn’t one of them.
21. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Who said it: Aristotle
My take: I believe in the compound effect of small actions done consistently over time. Try and get 1% better every day.
22. “Be not afraid of going slowly. Be afraid only of standing still.”
Who said it: Chinese proverb
My take: It’s entrepreneurial physics: an entrepreneur in motion stays in motion. Keep the momentum alive!
23. “Sometimes, you’ve got to work a little, so you can ball a lot.”
Who said it: Tom Haverford
24. “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”
Who said it: Anonymous
My take: Starting a business may involve some short-term sacrifices that ultimately end up getting you out of the rat race.
25. “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
Who said it: Stephen King
My take: Natural talent will only get you so far. You’ve got to apply it and put in the practice.
26. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”
Who said it: Estee Lauder
My take: I think it’s OK to have a dream or a vision for your future life, but then you need to take concrete steps to reverse-engineer that vision and make it a reality.
27. “Life is short. Don’t be lazy.”
Who said it: Sophia Amoruso
My take: There’s a time and a place to rest, but make sure your rest serves you. The days may go slow but the years go fast.
28. “Progress equals happiness.”
Who said it: Tony Robbins
My take: A sense of progress or forward motion makes for satisfying days and a satisfying life. This is one reason I created my own productivity journal and called it The Progress Journal.
29. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Who said it: Frederick Douglass
30. “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.”
Who said it: Stephen C. Hogan
31. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
32. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Who said it: Maya Angelou
My take: Like other in-demand skills, creativity is something that can be learned with practice.
33. “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”
Who said it: Jon Acuff
My take: Every expert was once a beginner; every all-star was once a rookie. The key is getting started and staying started, without falling victim to the comparison trap.
34. “Never accept yourself as a finished product. Be a finished product when you die. As long as you have breath in your lungs, expand yourself.”
Who said it: Brandi Bates
My take: I like this hustle quote. There’s always room for improvement or little optimizations along the way.
35. “The best kinds of people in your life aren’t those who gather to celebrate your success, but those who gather to help your hustle.”
Who said it: Usman Ismaheel
My take: Surround yourself with like-minded people, the kind who understand what you’re working toward.
36. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
Who said it: Zig Ziglar
My take: Instead of looking for business ideas, what if you started looking for problems to solve?
37. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Who said it: Thomas Edison
38. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
Who said it: Henry Ford
39. “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.”
Who said it: Drew Houston
40. “Every strike out brings me closer to the next home run.”
Who said it: Babe Ruth
41. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Who said it: Thomas Edison
42. “Either you run the day or the day runs you.”
Who said it: Jim Rohn
43. “If you can’t yet do great things, do small things in a great way.”
―Napoleon Hill
44. “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
—Vince Lombardi
45. “Work until your bank account looks like a phone number.”
—Unknown
46. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
—Walt Disney
47. ““I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”
—Lucille Ball
48. “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
—Bill Gates
49. “A year from now you will wish you had started today.”
—Unknown
50. “The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, has nothing and becomes nothing.”
―Leo Buscaglia
51. “No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.”
—Billie Jean King
52. “Your 9-5 may make you a living, but your 5-9 makes you alive!”
Who said it: Nick Loper … that’s me!
My take: Even if your day job is soul-sucking, you’re in control of your other 16 hours every day. Use them wisely!
Hustle Quotes: Your Turn
Do you have a favorite hustle quote? Be sure to share in the comments below!
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Women or men you gotta hustle the same.
-Tehmina
Making something out of nothing that’s the beauty in hustling .
Sometimes you just need to keep your head down and work towards your goal. It is important to know what you are working towards at all times. Sometimes everyone just needs a little more motivation! Keep working hard, and good things will come to you.
Don’t just name your
self a
hustler
let people say it…!
A foolish man with money is already poor!
Hustling gives u what u want
Never give up. The beginning is always the hardest.