Years ago, one of my mentors shared some advice that would change my life: “99 percent is hard. 100 percent is easy.” Kind of confusing at first, right? But stay with me. Most people live in the 99 percent. They really want more money, more freedom, more passion, more fulfilment, more impact, and more meaning. But they haven’t fully committed to doing anything about it yet. They’re only at 99 percent. This makes committing time to a side hustle hard. Here are five ways to know if a side hustle will fit into your life.
1. You want it 100 percent. If you’re already committed to the idea of making your side hustle a reality, you eliminate the mental stress and anxiety that comes with making the big decision to just make it happen. Because there’s no more gray area, it’s clear what you need to do — say, building a professional website for your new biz or drafting a freelance work contract. Instead of moving a little bit in many different directions, when you’re at 100 percent, you direct your energy toward making huge strides in one direction. After watching my clients build successful side hustles, I learned that success ultimately comes down to two things: commitment and action. That’s what living in the 100 percent is all about.
2. You’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Chances are, if you’ve been thinking about a side hustle for 12 months or more, you are truly ready for one. When something has been filling up mental space over time, it’s a big sign that you’ll make it work, because it becomes too painful to NOT do it. When you make the decision to go after your passion project, the time previously spent procrastinating becomes time spent creating.
3. You’re productive. Are you a go-getter? Do you get stuff done? Are you always striving for better? When you care about productivity, efficiency, and making stuff happen, a side hustle will slide into your life like any other project.
4. You’re a planner. Dr. Stephen Covey, educator, speaker, and author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, once said, “Don’t prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities.” Is this you? Do you plan ahead? Do you keep a tight calendar? If so, you’re already a step ahead. Your stellar planning skills will come in handy when running a side biz.
5. You’re a doer. When you’re 100 percent in, you’re devoted to making your careers goals a reality. But when you’re only 99 percent there, it can be hard to put your side hustle first. There’s still some gray area when your friend invites you to her son’s birthday party, even though you planned to email some potential clients. Or there’s a Big Little Lies marathon on HBO, even though you should be writing articles to pitch media outlets. Or your boss offers you a promotion that’ll mean more hours and less fulfilling work, but it’s nothing more than a slightly better job title.
When you’re 99 percent in, you’re not sure what to do. There’s wiggle room to go to the party, binge HBO, take the promotion, do the things that won’t really bring you long-term happiness. But when you’re at 100 percent? There’s no alternative. You do what it takes to make your dreams a reality. Period. Because you DO.
Did you recently decide to launch a side hustle? Tell me about it in the comments!
