PURPOSEFUL HUSTLE BLOG

How many opportunities for connections are we passing up each day? Big Mama turned this concept on its head with one visit to Washington, DC. Find out what she did below.

It’s not always easy to put yourself out there, especially if you’re already surrounded by a supportive community of people who want to see you live into your purpose. But meeting new people and expanding our network is essential to growth. Especially if you are looking for more support and encouragement in pursuing your purpose, I cannot overstress how important is to find YOUR people.

This week's Failsume mistake of Being Too Cheap is associated with the song "Bag Lady" by Erykah Badu, which encourages women to value ourselves higher than anything else. How are you valuing yourself in your Purposeful Hustle? (A Failsume is a list of all my failures and mistakes throughout my career. The purpose of sharing this information is for you to learn what to avoid when faced with the same situations.)

These days, we hear the word “self-care” tossed around a lot. It’s used in so many different ways and has become a buzzword to sell products ranging from face masks to yoga classes. It’s used so much that it can almost feel like another form of stress. We might get caught thinking, “I have so much going on already, and now I need to worry about self-care too!” But whether we like it or not, taking good care of ourselves is essential. We need to be a friend to ourselves. Especially as Purposeful Hustlers, in order to live into our purpose, we need to be able to be the best versions of ourselves. We need to know what we need to stay healthy, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Our wellbeing is SO IMPORTANT.

If you’re at a point where you’re feeling like your career isn’t aligning with who you want to be in the world, it may be time to revisit your sense of purpose. This is something I need to do regularly to make sure I’m showing up as the best version of myself and making values-driven decisions, and it is the central theme of my book Purposeful Hustle.

One of the most common obstacles people mention to me when wanting to do impactful work is finances. It seems like there’s never enough money to make the changes in your life that will help you live within your purpose or create the impact that you want to see. This is where the hustle part of Purposeful Hustle kicks in. With little or no money, I have seen people create countless impactful solutions. In fact, I soon realized in my philanthropic work that the organizations with the biggest impact are often the ones who are underfunded. Why? Because those organizations prioritize impact over fundraising and are too busy doing the work to raise the money. You CAN make a huge impact with a small cash flow.

It is totally possible for you to have the impact you hope to have in the world while maintaining your career ambitions. The two are not mutually exclusive. You can contribute to positive social change AND be successful professionally. In fact, being able to marry the two is the key to maximizing your Purposeful Hustle. Investing in and developing yourself to be the best you can be means that your contributions to the greater good have the capacity to be that much better.

You’re ready to start living in your purpose. You’ve identified your personal purpose statement using these Simple Steps to Make Career Decisions That Better Align With Your Values, or maybe you already felt clear and confident in what your purpose is. You’ve checked your fears and your doubts at the door. Maybe you’ve read 5 Questions to Ask if You Want to Take Action But Think There is Nothing You Can Do. Either way, you’re talking the talk of a Purposeful Hustler. Now it’s time to walk the walk. Here’s where to start:

One of the number one questions I get from people is "How do you find the time to do all of the things that you are doing?" I wish that I had a magic time machine that made additional time. But I don’t have one! (If you do, please share!) After reflecting on this question, I realized that I do have a pretty intentional system that I have been using over the past decade to help me achieve my Purposeful Hustle goals! To date, it has been a mixture of things in my head, a few tools, and a couple of notes here and there. BUT as a gift to myself, and to all of the Purposeful Hustlers out there, I decided to actually see if I could turn it into a system that I could share with others. And guess what, it’s here!

Many people today harbor a dream of starting a business. The idea of a “side hustle” has captured the imagination of those working a traditional job. The Flying Elephant team is going even further to show how to make that “side hustle" purposeful!