ExploreTruth

To get rich or die trying.  Hustle till I I D-I-E.  Make money by any means necessary.  I gotta get mine, fool, you gotta get yours.  If it ain’t about money, I ain’t concerned.  I’m a hustla homie, you better ask about me.

These were the messages wrapped in frustratingly tight plastic wrapped CD covers. They breathed the soul of a genre whose capitalistic fantasies and narratives seemed to run as wide and wild as Bet or MTV would let them.  My brothers and I used our gifts of stealth, to buy, borrow, and sneak them inside our house.  We became students in a class that never graded, and one where there always seemed to be extra credit.  My parents would have killed us if they knew were listening to that sort of music, but we found a way.  We sought it out.  Or maybe it found us.

The version of the American Dream I was led to believe represented and glamorized a top breed of ambitious and motivated people. Tupac defined it as, “my ambitions as a rider”.  He would then point to what he saw as a commonality among humanity… , “something we all adore, something worth dying for, stuck in this game, searching for fortune and fame”.

Somewhere along the way something took hold. My idea of the ultimate position in society was one who defined hustler…or should I say hustla, just in case we get birthday suits confused with what the the Urban Dictionary defines as:

Someone skilled at turning a profit no matter what the enterprise.

Now, that pinnacle just cant cut it anymore, as the sole definition of success. And I know for many people this may not initially appear as your all consuming obsession.  But maybe its worth reflecting on what ones value’s really are.  The idea of structuring ones life around an obsession of wealth, to the detriment of personal and spiritual development, although tempting, still lacks the power quell an inevitable dissatisfaction.  There has to be more to life than simply making a living, or getting money…right?

The Revolving Door, Insanity every floor, Sky-scraping, paper chasing, What are we working for?

That’s the question Lauren Hill poses in her MTV Unplugged song, “Mystery of Iniquity“. That is the question I now use to counterbalance the corporate backed music conglomerates message that has grown even stronger and more focused than I remember as a younger youngster.

My cousin just passed away, and I can assure you there were no stocks or bonds in his coffin.  No euros, francs or dollars.  He left alone, leaving behind with those that knew him, a monument of memories, thoughts, and impressions he had made on the lives of his friends, family, and those he encountered in his life.  That’s it.

So how can I make money, without losing my soul?

As I see it, money is a resource, simply representing and allowing who you are, your values, intentions and desires to be realized.  When it turns into a means to get more means, to get more means, well, that cycle then becomes almost ridiculous, considering that we all have a very finite amount of time to engage in visions of immortality.  For me, I make a concerted effort to not get entrepreneurship and the pursuit of a better life confused with what really matters in life.

Entrepreneurship vs Innerpreneurship

Tara Joyce at Elastic Mind describes entrepreneurs as having a(n):

• high need for achievement
• high need for independence
• low need for conformity
• internal locus of control
• love of ambiguity
• propensity for risk-taking
• obsession with opportunity

She then goes on to talk about innerpreneurs. Now , for me, this was the first time I had heard the term, but subsequently realized it true source.  She describes this growing group of individuals as slightly different than the traditional entrepreneur.

…we start businesses to aid in our personal growth rather than that of a company’s. We start our businesses so we can find personal fulfillment and satisfaction through our work.  We are driven by our need to realize our full potential, to make a difference and to constantly learn and evolve.

Wikipedia defines a similar phrase that speaks to what I believe is a better state than simply living for money. It’s called Social Entreprenuership:

Social entrepreneurship is the work of a social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society as well as in profit and return. While social entrepreneurs often work through nonprofits and citizen groups, many are now working in the private and governmental sectors and making a real impact on society.

Maybe you are familiar with these terms, consider yourself in one of these categories, or just find them interesting.  Feel free to let me know your thoughts.  I know when I first encountered the terms, both spoke to the ideals I now hold as important in my life, and challenged me to ask the hard questions as to how best I was using the life given to me.