January 2, 2013

You Gotta Hustle to Win

You Gotta Hustlehus·tle  \ˈhə-səl\
Verb: To sell or promote energetically and aggressively.
Noun: Busy movement and activity.

You gotta hustle to win.

Last weekend my fiancée and I went to Đà Nẵng for a little exploring and R&R.  We rented a motorbike and drove 40 kilometers down the coast to the charming old trading port of Hội An.

We decided to explore a bit before going to the hotel.  Near the beach we saw an abandoned resort which had fallen into ruin.  There was a old dirt road winding up a small hill past the resort.  Where the road led was a mystery.

“Let’s see where that goes!” Thùy Anh exclaimed.  I hit the throttle and nudged the sputtering bike up the hill.

When we reached the top we saw more ruins and a few shacks onthe beach.  I stopped the bike.  “Erm…maybe this is a private residence,” I thought.

In a flash a woman exited one of the shacks and ran toward us, smiling and gesturing with great excitement.  Her meaning was obvious immediately — “Come, come!”  Her enthusiasm piqued our curiosity.  We went down.

hustleIt turned out to be a family-run beachside seafood restaurant.  After looking at the menu we enjoyed a lunch of fresh seafood and relaxing sea breezes.  We watched our new friend run out a few more times to attract customers.

I was struck by her energy and hustle.  She took nothing for granted.  Each time she heard a motorbike coming up the hill she ran out to charm new customers into her restaurant.  Watching her was an inspiration.  “You gotta hustle to win!” I thought.  “I gotta share this on my website.”

My new restaurant friend reminded me of a valuable lesson.  To achieve anything worthwhile you gotta be ready to hustle anytime, anyplace.