Hustle Narcissists

Here is one path toward wisdom: neti neti. 

“Not this, not that.”

Or, more Stoically expressed: via negativa, moving away from something to move closer to something else.

This movement is the essence of this newsletter and the core of my personal philosophy - less foolishism - moving away from collective foolishness towards a Wisdom Commons, a place that makes wisdom more common. As of late, I have been focusing on modern foolish archetypes, which all have lessons for us and some wisdom to offer but are ultimately fools that serve what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls “antimodels.”

“People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels—people you don’t want to resemble when you grow up.”  - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Here are some examples from recent entries: purpose pornographers, midwits, intellectual serviles, snarkers, trolls, time drunks, and work martyrs. Now, I know some of these entries triggered some people, which is a good thing because within every trigger is a truth not wanting to be recognized. Having a taxonomy of modern fools helps point out unconscious tendencies in ourselves or in people whom we cannot help but be drawn to.

There is another fool that I have been thinking about lately—the hustle narcissist. I won’t point out any names, but the internet is littered with examples. This fool combines “hustle culture” and chasing the “special-feeling.” The former is a culture promoting constant effort toward recognizable success, and the latter is the zero-sum sense of specialness that is the generator function of narcissism.

The label narcissist is painfully overused, but the essence is being in the wrong relationship with the special-feeling, which on its own is not a bad thing. People can get high on the special-feeling through many means, and some chasers are quite ineffective in the world, developing fantasy worlds untethered from reality where they are some messiah figure. Other chasers are effective, deriving the special-feeling from recognizable success. The hustle narcissists fall within the latter category.

Hustling, a word repurposed as admirable work ethic, originally meant “to get in a quick, illegal manner,” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. Despite any repurposing, hustle culture has not moved away from the spirit of cheating, which is explicitly promoted by the “success hackers” discussed in the “Self-Help is Dead, Got Wisdom Instead?” entry. As the motto goes, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”

The hustle narcissists embody this motto, and given their true motive is receiving a hit of the special-feeling through recognizable success, they are more than willing to justify ignoble means to get it. Yet, this would be in incomplete analysis, as the modern hustle ethos is also accompanied by extreme discipline, hard work, and the ability to enjoy the stick over the carrot. Without these qualities, they would not stand a chance at being successful.

Many hustle narcissists are multi-millionaires, from hustles like sales or selling supplements, but since success is now understood through the attention economy, winning in the market economy is no longer enough. Given this, all hustle narcissists are in the podcasting game. They are usually male, with a steroid-aesthetic muscly build, because to win attention, one needs to flex in the spectacle. Additionally, some wax pseudo-philosophically or have faux spiritual vibes, with gaudy displays of spiritual symbolism, because being wealthy and shredded is no longer enough for “success,” appearing smart and spiritual is also needed.

Their motivational schema is uncalibrated and skewed in a way that will not lead to true happiness, communion, or a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible because they are too focused on succeeding in the current system rather than midwifing a new one. However, there is a deep seed of wisdom that the hustle narcissists contain, which the wisdom commoners can learn from: they are winners.

I see nothing inherently wrong with becoming wealthy by offering value in the market economy, having an attractive muscular body, and being philosophically and spiritually embodied. Winning in all of these areas is extremely difficult and deserves respect. The wisdom commoners need to stop being so pretentious and honor the reality that winning in the current system does not exclude midwifing a new one.

I believe such winning can be done in a motivationally calibrated way, avoiding the pitfalls of the corrupting forces of both the market and attention economy, allowing new worlds to unfold. And the encouraging news about the hustle narcissists is that all they need is to overcome their addiction to the special-feeling, which, given their increasingly holistic approach to hustling, is not too far away.

Overall, the lesson we can learn from these fools is simple: it’s time to win.

If you’d like to inquire into your own hustle, you can respond to this message to see if I have any availability in my practice. You can also inquire with us at Collective Journalling…

What is Collective Journalling? This communal practice happens via Zoom and is 90 mins, with check-ins in the chat at the beginning and an opportunity to connect with fellow journalers in breakout rooms at the end. You do not have to stay the whole time. If you are in an antisocial mood, you do not have to interact with anyone, yet you can still enjoy the coffee shop-esque communal vibe. The session concludes with an optional sharing of a passage in the chat. Most of the time is spent in silence together, individually inquiring about what matters most. A lovely group of people has formed around this practice. The practice occurs on weekdays @ 8 AM ET. RSVP link is behind the paywall.