Jeff Struecker: Wake up, brush your teeth, and HUSTLE!

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Shannon Labrie knows what it means to hustle.  She grew up on a small farm in the Midwestern US. Farming communities large and small are marked by their incredible work ethic. Hustle and hard work grows something deep in a person that just cannot bear fruit any other way. (Do you like what I just did there with the farming language?)

In a world obsessed with shortcuts, looking to technology to simplify life and web-searching for easy solutions to hard problems, I feel the need in this article to remind you of the value of hard work and hustle. Shannon learned to overcome some incredible obstacles as a woman by going through hardships and hard work as a young girl.

Here are a few things you can learn from Shannon about the value of hustle and hard work:

You won’t fear failure

The fear of failure disappears when you hustle every day, all day long.  Most of the people who work with you will fall by the wayside around you, because they’re not willing to sacrifice and work as hard as you. Eventually, enough people will drop out when the work gets too hard, that you’re the last one left standing.  This is the moment when all the hard work pays off.

Helps you focus

Lazy people might spend their life spinning their wheels, but not the guy or gal that hustles! No one wants to waste their time working their fingers to the bone. Hard work helps you focus your efforts. After all, why would you give that much sweat and energy to something that isn’t going to help you reach your goals? 

Eliminates insecurity

Let’s be honest; you just don’t have enough time to sit around and stare at your navel or wonder if you’re good enough to make it. You’ll have an accurate assessment of your true abilities when you’re hustling from the moment that you get out of bed. If you’re not sure that you have what it takes to succeed, wake up, brush your teeth, and hustle. It won’t take long to find out the answer to that question. 

Corrects bad habits

All of us have done some sloppy work that we had to go back and fix. Hard work and hustle will correct bad habits in a hurry.  No one wants to plant the same field twice or clean the chicken coop unnecessarily. 

Its own reward

Hustle pays its own dividend.  My favorite reason for hard work and hustle is because at the end of the day, you have the privilege of laying down at night knowing that you poured your heart and soul into your job today. There’s satisfaction in knowing that you gave everything you had to your task and that you gave your absolute best effort. I’m convinced you will sleep well tonight when you have been hustling all day long. Hard work and hustle are their own self-reward!

Take a life lesson from Shannon Labrie: Tomorrow morning… when the rooster crows… wake up, brush your teeth, and HUSTLE!
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Jeff Struecker is recognized as a warrior, author, professor, and nationally known speaker. He serves as  pastor at 2 Cities Church in Columbus, Ga.