In this episode, Steli and Hiten spend some time discussing the overused art of the “lazy hustle.” Steli talks in-detail about an annoying email he received from a lazy hustler, and Hiten shares why he never likes to use the word hustle. Listen to learn how Steli and Hiten differentiate between what it means to have hustle versus lazy hustle, and why it’s imperative to avoid being a “yes-man” or “yes-woman.”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:45 – Steli shares the background story of today’s topic

00:50 – Someone sent Steli an aggressive, strong email pitch

03:34 – “I can’t say Yes to everything”

03:59 – The email sender replied again asking Steli for advice

04:46 – The email sender was probably having second thoughts about his pitch

06:18 – Hiten shares why the email sender’s action is a lazy hustle

08:00 – The email sender is not a real hard-working person

08:54 – Hiten shares why he doesn’t use hustle

14:20 – When you haven’t done any real work to prove yourself and you’re trying to find shortcuts to success by leveraging what other people have is the definition is lazy hustle

15:40 – Steli sent Seth Godin a cold email to ask feedback for his first e-book

17:20 – Seth Godin’s reply to Steli

18:50 – Steli gives another example of a hustle and a lazy hustle

3 Key Points:

Asking bold questions or giving bold answers doesn’t equate to success—it takes a hell of a lot more than that.

[0:00:03]

Hiten Shah: Hi this is Hiten Shah.

[0:00:05]

Steli Efti: And this is Steli Efti and in today's episode of The Startup Chat I want to talk to you about the lazy hustle. Hiten, you have no idea what this topic is about. We didn't discuss this in too much detail, other than I told Hiten I have a rant and I think you're gonna enjoy and probably we're gonna come up with something useful and valuable to the listeners. Let me give you the background story here.

[0:00:30]

Hiten Shah: Okay.

[0:00:30]

Steli Efti: I recently got an email from somebody that was basically, he sent me a cold email, and he basically made a very aggressive, very hard pitch that, listen Steli, you don't know me, I'm a huge fan. I'm the absolute super ninja hustler. I've been hustling since I've been a baby. I'm incredible. I'm so hard working. I'm gonna make magic happen. I'm a diamond in the rough and I'm gonna become this super famous, super wealthy entrepreneur and you're getting a chance to get started with me kind of in the early stages when people don't even realize it. I want to co-found a company with you. Then he gave me his idea. Here's my idea, and it's an idea ... I don't know. It's in a market I know nothing about. It didn't sound or was ... it didn't sound very sophisticated at all ... that exciting to me. Maybe he didn't describe it that well. But it was totally random and it had nothing to do with anything I have ever done or know anything about. So he gives me this pitch, this spiel about the business idea that he has and...