Jab, Jab, Self Love

Are “Hustle’ and 'Spirituality’ counter-intuitive ?

Gabrielle Bernstein & Gary Vaynerchuk …. How to discover the Yin to your Yang

Since starting my design label nearly 10 years ago I’ve spent hours educating myself on brand and business building, it hasn’t come naturally as my comfort zone is in the studio ‘making’. I’ve tried traditional routes of wholesale and trade shows whilst simultaneously building an online presence, connecting with my audience and selling through a website … both with varying degrees of success.

I discovered Gary V through a photographer and creative thought leader, Chase Jarvis. If you haven’t tuned into his podcast or jumped on his creative platform, Creative Live, then I urge you to give him a go. Over the past five years of absorbing countless interviews and being gratefully introduced to the likes of Brené Browne, Tim Ferris, Ryan Holiday, Marc Ecko and of course Gary Vaynerchuk. I can’t tell you the amount of wisdom I’ve consumed.

Each person has a story to tell, none experiencing an easy ride and generously talk of ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ and lessons learned. Individually they help pave the way for others to achieve goals, giving permission and encouragement to make mistakes, learn by them and move on … and moving on is the key. Never stop evolving, creating and searching for the truth in who you are as an artist and entrepreneur . It’s an ongoing journey and we never stop learning.

When listening to Gary V for the first time I instantly liked his explosive enthusiasm and no bullshit approach, negativity bounces off him like bullets off batman. He’s incredibly open to crediting his mum for his self confidence, talking about self esteem he thanks her for breathing belief into him from an early age.

With high energy and out spoken he’s popularised the word ‘hustle’. On the flip side he talks about emotional intelligence and connectivity being key to business success. His second book ‘ The Thank You economy’ explains that businesses who prove they care about their customers more than anyone else will seize the day.

Over the years he’s intuitively tuned in to societal trends and consumer’s reaction to technology, enabling him to predict trends, invest wisely and build a marketing empire concluding every brand and his dog hiring his media company. This success can only come from being inquisitive and aware of human behaviour, listening and asking questions. He maintains a high octane vibe whilst being grounded, connected and removing his ego from the equation.

There’s infinite information to tap into with different approaches and methods. It sometimes can be hard working out which approach is right for you. Do you study one person alone and drill down ? Do you absorb as much as you can and hope through osmosis a thriving business will emerge ? The greatest thing about being an independent is the freedom to choose your path, the hardest thing about being an independent is choosing which path to take.

During the 9 years of building my design label I’ve hustled, I’ve hustled around family life, during holidays, every spare moment entirely consumed in how to maintain, develop and grow. Over the last couple of years the trajectory of my business has taken a different route, funnily enough instigated at London Fashion Week whilst exhibiting with the British Fashion Council. After the exhibition I felt flat and deflated, I’d been working so hard towards ‘making it’ that I hadn’t a clue what it actually mean to me. It was a really confusing time, a time to reflect and reevaluate …

I’ve recently been introduced to the work of Gabrielle Bernstein. I was familiar with her name and fourth book ‘The Universe Has Your Back’ , only now has her latest book ‘Super Attractor ‘ landed on my reading list. Burnstein is an addict in recovery, she’s dabbled with spiritualism throughout her late teens and early twenties. In 2005 at 25 she hit rock bottom and sought help with alcohol and drugs addiction, she fully connected to her spirituality and never looked back. Burnstein like Vaynerchuk is a hugly successful entrepreneur, both being on the New York best seller list they have connected with their audience over the years and monetised greatly. They both work extremely hard with an emphasis on gratitude and giving back.

After listening to the first few chapters I knew her work was going to resonate with me. As a teen and in my early twenties I identified as a spiritual person. I don’t know at what point my interest wained, the transition through art college, London life and working in the fashion industry all impacted my vision of the world and what it takes to ‘achieve’ and my ‘hippy’ side wasn’t conducive to business building … or so I thought.

Bernstein explains the importance of being open to receive and how negatives energy creates blockages that wont allow opportunities and progression to flow.

‘Many people believe that we need to push and control to get what we want in life. But trying to “make things happen” is one of the greatest blocks to manifesting. Being a Super Attractor is about strengthening your faith and tuning into the energy of love so you can receive.’

‘Spirit Junkie’, ‘The Universe Has Your Back’ , ‘Super Attractor’, the titles alone are polar opposite to Vaynerchuk’s ‘Jab Jab Right Hook’, two unique authors targeting different markets. The original idea of this post was to stick them both in the ring to see which ideology came up tops … questioning wether spirituality and hustle can comfortably coexist in the entrepreneur psyche. But when analysing in more detail their approach to business and personality traits it appears to me that both have beautifully connected their Yin and Yang.

Vaynerchuk counteracts the ‘hustle’ with his deep respect for empathy and integrity. Bernstein has mastered entrepreneurship with intuition, self love and trust. They both deliver teachings from a different place but ultimately have found a balance that works.

Emotionally driven by two energies in perfect harmony. Imagine Katniss, one red hot warrior, she’s fearless, precise, full of drive, ambition and grit. Then there’s Yoda, who trusts in the universe, has mastered empathy, intuition, patience and is full of love. Complimenting and in tune, each knowing when to take control…. a winning combination.

Vaynerchuk talks about eliminating fear in the work place so employee’s aren’t scared to stand up in meetings or hesitant to pitch ideas, allowing a person to develop their full potential and in turn cultivate strong leaders to move business forward. Burnstein talks of having total trust in yourself and the universe, not allowing negative energies unbalance alignment. These two approaches work seamlessly together for the perfect outcome.

If we eliminate fear by ultimately trusting the outcome is meant to be, we have a unique chance to grow.

By identifying that success takes drive and commitment, and as Gary V say’s this is a marathon not a sprint, we need to look after ourselves along the way. Acknowledging the assistance of Katniss and Yoda, two very different energies, to help us navigate life with enthusiasm and balance is a way of ensuring that everyday we feel fulfilled and at peace with our journey…. and that can only be a good thing.

Image Credit

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash