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Comment by sharemywin | Hacker News Reader

I think your interpreting the wrong definition.

Just like hacker doesn't always mean breaking into computer systems.

So, yes your right to not work for people that break into systems and hustle("con") people for money, but if the definition is:

http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/hustle

verb. work hard make effort

devote apply knuckle down try

dig turn

direct address peg away

give be diligent persevere

give all one's got be industrious plug

give best shot bear down pour it on

give old college try bend pull out all stops

grind buckle down scratch

hammer away commit study

hit the ball concentrate sweat

hustle dedicate throw

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It seemed right to me. How many industries do you see people on social media, usually start-ups, talking big game about their daily grind and how much involved they are in the work. Many times these individuals are just starting and while they're hustling now they're probably not going to last 'hustling' at their current rate. If you're busy talking about the hustle and not actually hustling you might just be hyping your shit up to people to make your new business work.

A hustler doesn't necessarily aim to con people but they con themselves into thinking what they're doing is more groundbreaking than it is.

+1, I'm pretty sure the term was adopted from gangster rap where it roughly translates to "working hard to make money". I've seen it in use by people who don't work in sales.

I don't think he is: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hustle

"Obtain illicitly or by forceful action."

"Pressure someone into doing something."

"Sell aggressively."

"A fraud or swindle."

There's also "hustler" (https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hustler): "A person adept at aggressive selling or illicit dealing."

There are uses of the word that don't have negative connotations but in the context we generally hear it in around startups, I think the negative connotations are still appropriate.

This fits more with what my thinking is about what it means to hustle. It definitely can have a 'fraud' or 'swindle' connotation, but not always. To me, it just means to work hard and persevere despite initial failures.

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