Some of the most vibrant people I’ve met in North Omaha are either artist or entrepreneur. Although it is not proven that you have to be from any North Omaha hood to be a talented being. But you could assume that some generous amount of creativity comes from having some kind of hustle.

There exists some level of urgency to express individual pursuits & passions having grown up on a poverty lifeline. I’ve witnessed that these two groups of people have a serious inclination to use their talents as a means of expressing their current state of mind.

Lately I’ve come to realize that ‘artist’ can mean just about anything to anyone. You are a spoken word poet. You are a sculptor of hair. You teach hip-hop dance.  Coincidently, entrepreneur is the new black (sexy black of course) and is also a term loosely thrown around. For the sake of this conversation, I chose to label them both “hustler.”

This name is not meant to describe a criminal or some con-artist type. Instead, lets break down hustler into it’s basic form: one who is self-motivated to achieve a certain goal or lifestyle. A hustler has a certain type of mindset which determines that there is no where else to go except up.

We have plenty of examples of modern day hustlers. Beyonce is the recent rave in entertainment showing the world a new meaning to the female hustler. Issa Rae is taking over Youtube TV with her acting series. Today’s hustler doesn’t have to have a hit song on the Billboards – they can have over a million Instagram followers just the same.

Regardless of fame, I want to shine some light on the hustler who is not yet famous for chasing their dreams. What drives this man or woman everyday to make the most out nothing? What keeps the hustler strong yet so willing to be subject to critique? How does a hustler adapt so well to change?

It is all about the mentality of this dreamer, having so much faith in his or her own talents that they commit to expressing those daily to any person they meet. In exchange for your time, they request either a listening ear or material support. As long as they have your attention, they’ve won half the battle.

Realizing this I can no longer judge a person based on their appearance or what part of town they grew up in. But now I will pay more attention to how committed a person is to their passion for life. Are you truly hungry for tangible success? If you have not understood what it means to believe in yourself despite the odds, then you could not respect my appreciation for that underrated hustler on the daily grind.