When you first get an idea for a side hustle, it’s almost impossible to know which strategy will actually work. The only real way to figure it out is to try a few different approaches, keep track of what happens, and let the results guide you.
When you first start thinking about a side hustle, ideas can feel like they're coming from everywhere. But how do you sort through the noise and land on the one that’s actually right for you? It helps to have a system, something that lets you compare your options without getting overwhelmed.
An early mentor of mine used to say, “You can shear a sheep for a lifetime, but you can only skin it once.” This idea has been the foundation of nearly every business I’ve built, from fitness and software to what I do now.
I once walked up to a car rental counter to pick up a vehicle I’d reserved for $19 a day. I handed my ID to the smiling agent, who quickly told me, “Hmm. It looks like we don’t have the car you reserved. We have an equivalent, but… you’re a big guy. Would you prefer a roomier pick-up truck instead?”
It seems to be a fundamental part of being human: we find real happiness when we’re working toward something that gives us a sense of purpose and growth. After a period of personal realignment, where you’ve hopefully cleared away old limiting beliefs, a new world of possibilities opens up. The big question becomes, what do you do with that freedom? How will you find that sense of fulfillment?
Decades ago, my mentor posed a simple question that took me years to fully unpack: “Are you a good person or a bad person?” My immediate answer was, “A good person,” but the real weight of that self-assessment didn’t hit me until much later.
It’s a story we’ve all been sold. From magazines and TV to the highlight reels on social media, we’re constantly fed the idea that success is something that just —a sudden, overnight event that arrives with minimal effort or resistance. This myth is everywhere, shaping how we think about our own ambitions.
"Good luck with that." "Beginner's luck." "You lucky dog."
Ever watch someone truly gifted at their craft and think, “They were just born with it”? Whether it’s seeing Warren Buffett explain the market, Eric Clapton play a guitar solo, or Simone Biles perform a flawless routine, the gap between their ability and ours can feel impossibly wide. It’s easy to convince ourselves they have some secret ingredient, some innate talent that we simply don’t.