You'll have to take risks in life to be successful, at anything, and hustling is just the same. If you see an opportunity, jump at it. Don't wait. Even if you aren't the most qualified for the task, take a lesson from Malcolm X's “ghetto hustler” and commit yourself to it, fully and absolutely. No restraints.

Here are the some lessons we can all learn, to better ourselves, from the common hustler:

1. Street smarts always outweigh book smarts.

Book smarts are great for written tests, but life is far from written. Someone with street smarts will always be qualified for any of the unscripted story lines that life will hand him.
Knowing when to say something, and choosing words deliberately, are all encompassed under the “street smarts” umbrella – as is the notion of reacting, in general.
Book smarts are strengthened by repetition. Street smarts are strengthened by reaction.



2. Always come out on top.

No matter what, always come out on top of whatever you're involved with. This doesn't necessarily mean walking out with a trophy, or even a W in the win column, but always strive to position, or reposition, yourself favorably after any enterprise. No matter how small the victory.


3. Know how to cut corners (when necessary)

I'm not saying “f*ck hard work,” but if there's an “easy way” – and it gets you to your end game faster than the alternative – then, why not?
There are ways to bend rules without breaking them, and almost every maze has a shortcut if you do your research. Just do your research.


4. Don't show people your true cards.

Never expose your “hand” to people around you. Sometimes it's better to downplay your own potential to certain people to maximize your leverage. Others, you'll want to flaunt a certain savviness with regard to a field you're currently lacking.


5. Practice makes perfect.

You can't hustle until your craft is perfected, even if that “craft” is the wonderful art of bullsh*tting. Spend time mastering whatever you choose to do, in private, before experimenting out in the wild.

Extracted from a write up