From Frenzy to Focus: Samantha Author Bessudo Drucker On How We Can Cancel Hustle Culture And Create A New Sustainable Work Paradigm

“Hustle Culture” is an ethos often propounded by young self-proclaimed internet gurus that centers around the idea that working long hours and sacrificing self-care are required to succeed. This mentality may have gained popularity in the mid-2010s, but it has peaked, and now it has been sardonically renamed “Burnout Culture.” So why exactly is Hustle Culture the wrong path to take? What damage can it cause? What is a viable, sustainable alternative to hustle culture? How can we move from Frenzy To Focus? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders, mental health leaders, marketing experts, business coaches, authors, and thought leaders who can share stories and insights about “How We Can Cancel Hustle Culture And Create A New Sustainable Work Paradigm.” As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Samantha Bessudo Drucker.

Samantha Bessudo Drucker is an image consultant, journalist, host, actress, and author. Her book, 90 Days to Husband №2: 10 Rules to Find Him, is a how-to dating system, based on a proven technique.

This lifestyle “genie” with a wealth of talent is co-host of “Love & Design Project,” a home makeover series; and “Sexy is Timeless Talks,” a female-empowered talk show. Samantha is also a host and journalist for DivaGalsDaily.com, a multicultural lifestyle, travel, and entertainment site.

Known for her savior-faire on everything and anything lifestyle-related, Samantha has appeared as an expert on all major networks and is frequently seen on live television morning shows. Samantha has also been featured in numerous TV shows and publications.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Tell us about your typical day!

7am, I start to wake up, this might include meditating or lying in bed visualizing the day unfolding as I would like it to.

8am coffee, and something light like a fruit or green juice. Along with a check in session with my husband. We share itineraries and anything we might need to do together, or anything pressing.

9am workout for an hour. This is either live online with my trainer, or a group class that I host online! Sometimes I go for a walk, jog , or swim, sit-ups and push ups.

10am shower, choose my outfit, hair and makeup… All of this is my ‘me time’. I think about and visualize things while I’m in the shower, I might rehearse a scene while doing my make up. Getting dressed everyday makes me feel in control and ready for anything!

11am Start working with my assistant. Taking the 1st 5 min to devise the strategy for our time together and relay anything urgent that may have popped up.

And until 6 I work! It might be interviews, auditions, emails, or arrangements for my book tour. Everyday there is something different on my agenda, which is why having a strict morning routine is important to me.

After dinner, from 7:30 to midnight I am in virtual acting classes twice a week! If it’s not a busy night I like to binge watch something addictive it helps me relax and come down from the ceiling of my day. Or I might go ballroom dancing to blow off some steam!

What lessons would you share with yourself if you had the opportunity to meet your younger self?

Get a coach or a mentor, someone who can help guide you from experience and expertise. Someone who can help you put together a plan of attack for whatever it is you want. So many people put this step off, but my advise is to ask for help when you need it.

Ok, thank you for sharing your inspired life. Let’s start with a basic definition to make sure that all of us are on the same page. How do you define Hustle Culture?

Doing as much as possible, as fast as possible. As someone who vaguely remembers a world pre internet, I feel like with each major tech revolution — internet, mobile phone, AI — we are expected to live and work faster than ever. We are all working on weekends and vacations, and our productivity is at an all time high. Time to step out and take a breath is important.

Now let’s discuss an alternative to Hustle Culture. To begin, can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the problems that come with Hustle Culture?

I have been a ‘solopreneur’ all of my adult life, so I know anything really worth having requires hard work. There is no such thing as safety, you can get hit by a bus tomorrow so you might as well do what you love and love what you do. Sometimes that requires a side hustle or two and that’s ok. I also achieved success as a ‘solopreneur’ in my endeavors because i believed it was possible and I was willing to fight for it — I was definitely the definition of a hustler for many decades.

The specific term “Hustle Culture” may have been popularized in the 2010s, but the concept behind it and the behaviors that come with it can be traced back hundreds or perhaps even thousands of years. From your vantage point, experience, or research, what were the main drivers of Hustle Culture?

Money, power, survival, ego, nothing has really changed. I think it is human nature to always want more, bigger, faster better — more food, more safety, more power. All of that is timeless. Like I said earlier, with every invention our productivity boosted and we were expected to do more faster. In the modern context, ego is a lot more at play in my opinion. People who have big egos are the ones that crave more — they are constantly redefining and pushing the limits of hustle culture. Its double sided because hustle culture can be really damaging, but the want for more is that advances human kind forward! It’s natural and ever evolving from my perspective.

I work in the marketing industry, and so I’m very cognizant of this question. What role do you see that marketing and advertising has played in creating the frenzy caused by Hustle Culture that many of us feel?

People working in marketing or communications at large are always operating on the 24 hour news cycle. That’s not realistic for anybody else anybody who’s not working like that. Particularly social media produce this sense of constantly needing to work to stay visible — because once you’re not visible, you do not exist. Social media marketing has added another necessary chore to keep your career moving — anyone in any industry is encouraged to keep multiple social media account active, engaging, and synergetic — it’s impossible!

Can you help articulate the downsides of Hustle Culture? Why is this an unsustainable work paradigm?

People have become completely insatiable. What would have been considered successful 100 years ago is seen as the bare minimum now. When money and career success is your only focus, you can lose sight of more important things like your family for example. So many people make the decision to move to a big city for work, leave their families behind, and in turn they are lonely and miserable. This takes a toll on anyone — you can’t be your most creative and productive self without your support system.

I also think that living in a post-pandemic world has made hustle culture even worse. There is so much loneliness now — when everyone is working at home, easily ordering groceries for delivery, the list goes on — we are sacrificing social interactions that we are built for. But we need to do that to keep up with rising productivity expectations. We’re working at a pace that is unnatural. Advances in technology have effectively warped time and space and we need to be very intentional about keeping some of that time to ourselves.

Let’s now discuss Focus, the opposite of Frenzy. Can you please share one area of your personal or business life where you simplified things and then felt less frenzied and more fulfilled? Can you please explain?

One thing I started doing to cut down on the frenzy is start saying no to things. I don’t go to all the events anymore, just the ones I really want to go to. I don’t need hundreds of friends. I just need an exclusive circle of great close friends. That is much more fulfilling than draining my social battery with people who don’t fill my cup.

I was working from home since the 90’s before it was even a thing and I love working from home. I get more done, more comfortably, and I win back time a would have spent in a commute.

What life experiences have you adopted in your business or personal life that have left you more satisfied? Can you please explain?

Believe that it’s possible desire, Discipline, determination, do the work as someone who has love, lost, failed and cheated death, I’m grateful for every day and I don’t take anything for granted. There is so much i want to do in this life and since none of us know when are last day is I’m always trying to see if i can do a years worth of work in a month. I push as hard as i can everyday.

Okay, fantastic. Here is the main part of our interview. In your opinion, how can we break the addiction to being busy or trying to find the next big thing? How can people truly focus on tasks that make THE difference to their business and lives giving them satisfaction or life purpose alignment? Based on your experience and your area of expertise, can you please share “Five Ways To Move From Frenzy to Focused”?

1 . Be very organized about your schedule. I like to color block, and I plan each month by entering all my standing appointments like workouts, classes, meal prep, etc .n then I fill in with meetings and social engagements and then anything that pops up. Time in between appointments is blocked out for prepping for whatever is next or doing work. Each kind of activity has its own color so I can see it all clearly.

2 . Do what you love, what fulfills you, so that even when its hard you’re motivated. I really believe that we become what we spend our time doing, so you should be doing what makes you feel good!

3 . Have goals that excite you. Even if it’s just perfecting a new recipe — that’s actually better! Your goals shouldn’t be about ego or what others think of you, they should be things you really look forward to.

4 . Reward yourself for accomplishments. You know yourself best, and you know what will motivate you. So don’t be afraid to reward yourself!

5 . A great assistant can make a huge difference — a great time in general is vital to staying positive and happy about your work. And if time is your most precious commodity, get all the support you can to maximize your time!

How would you describe a work paradigm that is a viable alternative to Hustle Culture? What would it look like, and what would you call it?

Sometimes when I can concentrate I try to work in 15 min spurts and then switch gears, or if I feel like I’m into it and I’m in a state of flow, I just keep going. Whenever you are in a state of flow try to just keep going with whatever you are doing; the point is working when and how it works for you. I believe work doesn’t always need to be centered around fulfillment — sometimes it’s just work — but don’t work against yourself! Work smarter not harder!

Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources that have inspired you about working differently?

I always recommend getting help when you need it — whether that’s assistance, coaching, or in my experience I enjoyed the Landmark Worldwide forums. I don’t really love Landmark, but I do really love their personal development forum and their forum for actors.

I also have a bunch of must read recommendations…

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is a classic and I think it’s still so valuable. It has some great pointers for working smarter not harder.

‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill”

‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne”

‘Awaken the Giant Within’ by Tony Robins”

‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey”

‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers”

‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale “

‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcom Gladwell“ — especially when he discusses what it takes to become an expert in your field. He calculates it down to about 10,000 hours, which confirms my belief that we become what we spend our time doing.

All of these books are about different techniques and tools that we can use to rewire our minds and put ourselves in a happier, more positive mindset , which in a way goes against hustle culture. It’s not about working as hard as possible its about working as smart as possible — operating at a high vibration and using a positive energy to attract more positivity into our lives by using tried and true methods and discipline.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can inspire.

I think the world would be a better place if everyone had the chance to do what they love and fulfill their dreams — and if they had someone to guide them through that process/ But a dream is not just a product or an idea, it’s every single day. I would love to create a cultural shift that inspires people to hone their power and bring their “A Game” every single day. We are so bogged down with every day life that it is impossible for us to be our best selves in every area of our life.

It’s much more important to become the best version of yourself than most people think. And it permeates through every part of your life. It’s in all out campaigns to become and live as your “A” game but its so worth it. You will grow and elevate yourself as a person, look better, feel better, and you will be operating on a higher vibration, thus attracting, good things your way in many areas. It’s about how we show up for ourselves and others — our daily lives will be happier and our society will function better if we are interacting with the world around us positively.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

My website is SamanthaBessudoDrucker.com, you can find all of my links on there! Most importantly is my Instagram: @samanthabessudodrucker and my book account, @90daystohusbandno2 — and I have a few other accounts that you will find on there!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.