A Prose Poem/Rant
Every other day, there’s a post sent to my LinkedIn feed telling me I must “have more than one income stream” in order to be successful. If I want to increase my income by $10K, I should, “connect more on social media, and build a brand.” The movers and thinkers are too busy moving and thinking, and I can’t get anyone to stop and hear what I’m saying.
Life is a rat race.
Powerful voices are buried
amongst the noise.
It’s success purgatory,
and the only way to land
your dream job is to
jump through every hoop
thrown at you at 100 mph.
I am covered in shitty articles, up to my neck in “This isn’t what we’re looking for, but better luck next time” and the world is a spinning shit-bucket waiting for a cleansing only the strong can provide. I am losing strength.
How can I, in my exhausted state, be expected to hustle more? Whatever happened to one’s work speaking for them? Whatever happened to authenticity and vulnerability luring people in? There are so many look-alikes prancing around the literary industry, I have no clue where one stops and the other begins.
Influencers share their highs,
deny their lows, and request
immediate funds for the
video you just watched you
clicked on a whim.
This is the world in which
we live. It is a hustle culture,
and everyone’s trying to
out-hustle the other.
And for what?
Some shit you can’t take
to the grave with you?
I had a conversation with a journalist friend of mine who says he’s so tired of all the work he has to do in order to stay above water. Why are people with REAL talent drowning in “the sea of same”, pigeon-holed to what’s hot, trendy, and new, and if they even think about pivoting away from the metric, they’re given their walking papers? From where did this bottomless pit of pithy perturbation originate? Who signed the approval papers? I need to speak to their manager.
I’m not here for the hustle,
I’m here for the art.
If that stunts my potential
to fulfill my dream, I’ll
take those odds.
I’d rather share what’s in
my heart than to
cookie cutter my words
only to have some top-notch
editor pass them off as
suitable enough to catapult
their brand.
I’ve got my own voice,
and I’m using it.
Originally published on Medium.
A Cornered Gurl 
It’s a jungle out there and they just don’t care. It’s no wonder there’s such a big mental health issue in society. We’re running an imaginary sprint race that has no real destination. -Michael
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This is extremely true! And thank you for reading.
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Wow, your post has struck a chord and rings true…it’s lovely to sit this stage/phase out and simply be…living the simple life in a modern city can be done, trE…keep up the good fight!
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I surely will. Thank you kindly for stopping by and for reading!
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🙌 Yessss! I believe (or I want to) that a mass rejection of the literary hustle is at hand, but for now I’m just glad you’re singing where we all can hear you!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun getting this frustration out. 🙏🏾💙
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.
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That’s how I feel about my art. Honestly I use my blog as an international vessel of recognition. It would be nice to make a quick buck, but weirdly I’m content in our simple life, blemishes and all. I just spoke to an artist who has under 20 followers on WordPress but needs to rank up high on both Instagram and twitter in order to be able to continue to sell on Redbubble. I at times wish the internet wasn’t so integral to ones success. The younger generation who deem themselves “influencers” have no influence on me. Most of those people that are “branding” are the most stuck up, self righteous phonies out there.
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I just shake my head at it all, Matt. It’s truly out of hand now.
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Pathetic. Truly.
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I hit send too soon…………………….and needed to finish the sentence! The world is full of people who are willing, and able, and well qualified, to do what they are doing. They do not necessarily want to progress to greater things. They do not necessarily want to manage other people. they do not necessarily wish to gain new or better qualifications. For goodness sake let them do their job for the benefit of themselves and for all others.
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🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
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……?
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?
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There seems to be a constant hustle to climb ladders, to be an influencer, to keep up with everyone else, and I am sick of hearing terms such as “continuing professional development”. Are we no longer allowed to be content with what we are, where we are, who we are
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Ah, now I see the reason for the “?”. Ha! Boom! Exactly, Peter! Yes to all of this!
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I feel you, trE. This one is a banger.
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Thank you, David. I appreciate you taking the time to read this one.
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This post really resonated with me. I think hustle culture can be incredibly toxic and I also think it covers up the fact that we shouldn’t have to hustle to make a liveable income. You shouldn’t have to work multiple jobs just so you can have three meals a day.
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Amen, Pooja! Amen!
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Please keep using your voice. It strikes my heart.
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Thank you, Peggy! I will. I will. 🙏🏾💙
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When people are no longer persuadable on the merits , all that’s left is the rank shilling of bought and paid homogenized influencers. That Pretend Perfect Personality over particulars. The Moo factor.
Nice write, and I empathize with your frustration.
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Thank you, Doug. It’s really quite painful to witness.
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Sounds like you’re as ready to move to the country as us!
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Yeah, no. Lol. Hustle Culture is everywhere because many people in the publishing/writing world make their living online. I believe we’ve allowed the simplicity and beauty of marketing one’s writing to become just as overwhelming and competitive as the tech/banking/music industries.
I would NOT make it in the country. I do enjoy city life, but I don’t enjoy moving as fast as everyone else when it comes to literary art.
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Gotcha! It’s ok, me neither.
When I say country, I mean out by a lake or near the ocean but away from the hordes of people!
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I get you. And I am a people person, so the country really isn’t for me. Lol.
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Well I am too, but the traffic here sucks! My husband is going to have a heart attack from stress if we don’t get away from here soon. We just have to wait a little longer until he gets his head around our finances 😑☺️
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🙏🏾💜
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👏👏👏
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🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
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Well done!
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Thanks, Petru!
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