Hot take: I saw a 'hustle culture' meetup in Austin and it looked miserable

I was at a coffee shop on South Congress last week, and a group of about 15 people had a 'networking brunch' at the big table. For two hours, they just passed around business cards and talked about their side gigs and 5 AM routines. Nobody was laughing or having a real conversation. It felt like a competition to see who was the most exhausted. Everyone says you need to grind non-stop to get ahead, but that scene made me think we're glorifying burnout. Has anyone found a good career path that doesn't require this kind of performative hustle?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.xena6d ago

That "competition to see who was the most exhausted" part really hit me... what do you think people are actually trying to win with that?

blake_lewis6d ago

Ugh, that sounds awful. But I gotta push back a little on the idea that all hustle is performative. For some people, those meetups are genuinely helpful for finding clients when you're starting out. The misery comes when it's your only social life and you forget how to talk about anything else.