Why Hustle Culture Is a Scam (And What Actually Works)
Spoiler: You don’t need to burn out to build something great.
Let’s get this out of the way up front: I used to worship at the altar of hustle.
If you had told me five years ago that I’d one day write a book about entrepreneurship without preaching 16-hour days, 5AM wake-ups, and coffee as a meal replacement, I’d have laughed. Or cried. Or both — I was very tired back then.
But after building multiple companies (some that flopped, some that did great, one that ended up on Shark Tank), I’ve realized something most people don’t want to say out loud:
Hustle culture is a scam.
Let me paint a picture
It’s 2012. I’m hunched over a laptop in a dim apartment in Montreal. I haven’t seen the sun in days. My startup “looks great” — meaning I have a slick pitch deck and a very colorful Kanban board in Trello.
But under the hood? No users. No revenue. Just a very sweaty guy frantically trying to outwork reality.
I was convinced that if I just worked harder, everything would click. That my inbox, Twitter feed, and very fragile ego would someday reflect the effort I was putting in. Spoiler: they didn’t.
The problem with hustle
It makes you feel productive without actually moving you forward. It’s like running on a treadmill with a VR headset that shows you the Alps. Sure, you’re sweating — but you’re not climbing anything.
Here’s how hustle culture scammed me:
1. I thought effort = outcome
I once spent six weeks building an internal tool that no one — not even me — ended up using. But it felt good. Like I was doing something.
Looking back, I was busy avoiding the scary stuff: marketing, talking to users, asking for money. Building that tool gave me the illusion of control. But it didn’t build the business.
2. I ignored my body and brain
I have ADHD. And I’ve been self-employed and remote since before it was trendy.
Put those together, and you’ve got a guy who can go full goblin mode on a problem for 14 hours… but also forget to eat, drink water, or go outside. For days.
Burnout didn’t knock gently. It kicked in the door wearing steel boots and screamed, “SURPRISE!”
3. I treated rest like failure
I used to feel guilty for watching movies. Like if I wasn’t working, someone else was, and they’d steal my dreams out from under me. (Entrepreneurship, but make it paranoid.)
What finally changed that? A combination of therapy, soil, and honest-to-God vegetables.
Farming saved me
That’s not a metaphor.
These days I live on a small farm in Japan. I grow carrots. I shovel actual manure. I once chased a goat out of my wife’s vegetable patch with a rake.
It turns out, growing food teaches you a lot about growing businesses.
You can’t rush a tomato. You don’t yell at a seedling to “hustle harder.” You set the conditions, you care for it, and you wait.
And yeah — you weed a lot. (Startup metaphor, anyone?)
Farming forced me to slow down. To pay attention. To stop tying my self-worth to my output. It reminded me that rest isn’t just allowed — it’s required.
What actually works
If hustle is the con, what’s the real path?
I won’t pretend there’s one-size-fits-all advice. But here’s what’s worked for me, and for a lot of other entrepreneurs I respect (and who still have hair):
1. Work in sprints, not marathons
The Pomodoro Technique saved my brain. 25 minutes of deep work, 5-minute break. Rinse, repeat. It’s the only system I’ve stuck with for more than a week.
I also keep variety in my day. A bit of coding, a bit of writing, some admin, and — crucially — time outside. (Yes, walking your dog counts as progress.)
2. Focus on small wins
My first book didn’t start with a grand vision. It started with 500 words a day. Some days those words were garbage. Some days they made me cry. But they piled up.
You don’t need to be a genius. You just need to show up consistently and stack the bricks.
3. Ask better questions
Instead of “How can I work harder?” try:
- What am I avoiding?
- What would this look like if it were easy?
- What does enough look like?
And my personal favorite: Would I be happy doing this if it failed?
Because a lot of startups do.
If you wouldn’t be proud of the journey, maybe don’t take that road.
Okay but… isn’t hustle sometimes necessary?
Yes — in short bursts. There are moments when you need to go all-in. Launch weeks. Big client deadlines. Crisis mode.
But you can’t live there.
Even elite athletes have off-seasons. Even jazz musicians rest between sets. Even your laptop needs a reboot.
So why should you be the exception?
Real talk: I wrote a whole book about this
Myths and Truths of Entrepreneurship is the book I wish I’d had when I started out.
It’s not about growth hacks or becoming a unicorn. It’s about the real, messy, brilliant journey of building something that matters — especially if you’re neurodivergent, multi-passionate, or just tired of pretending you have it all together.
I bust some myths. I share my scars. I make fun of buzzwords. I talk about that time I was on Shark Tank and walked away from a deal. I explain why “act-learn-build” works better than “dream-plan-wait.”
There’s even a free chapter if you want a taste.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the right things and still spinning your wheels — I wrote this for you.
And if you’re thriving? Amazing. Just… don’t forget to breathe.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is close your laptop and go pull some weeds.
(Or chase a goat. Your call.)
