Ain't No 401K in Hustlin'

One of the major reasons I began AD&AD several years ago was to pass the time at work as well as to get some thoughts off my chest in longform because no one is really interested in reading essays in the social media world. I know I haven’t written much lately and that is largely attributed to working more than the intended schedule but I have also decided to sanctify my family’s privacy this year. For business inquiries, I’ve had to do a better job of sourcing out proteins since the double-edged blessing of the US government artificially lowering pork prices comes with a curse of lowered quality standards which some food processing plants are taking full advantage of:  This is also why it is so important to know where our cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc. come from and how they are raised before they are slaughtered and portioned for our events. As much as I’d like to sell barbecue lunches and the occasional catered event throughout the year (the sauces are still a work-in-progress), it would mean nothing if Dub Shack BBQ was associated with trash that got folks sick if I don’t take care of the details.

Contrary to popular belief, there really is no 401K in hustling:  The reward comes from years of shaking the bushes and refining the craft to something that comes highly recommended. Speaking of which, you really need to sample The Ancestors barbecue sauce; although my paternal ancestors rep Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina, they brought the mustard-based style several hundred miles west to the Natural State. Also, it’s pretty awesome on pork!

Gotta get back to work #DubShackBBQ🏚 #everydayisaGREATdayforbarbecue #pitmasterlife #igotthesauces #Big6 #TheAncestors #DatWhite pic.twitter.com/gwqDQHFOI9

— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) April 27, 2019

Yesterday, my daughter wailed for several minutes as I backed out of the driveway for another twelve-hour night shift at the plant. It is honestly getting more difficult to acquiesce to the hustlin’ part of life when Little Miss Sunshine only wants someone to play with – in this case, Daddy. I want to give our only child the things I didn’t have growing up such as Power Wheels cars, multiple pairs of Air Jordan sneakers, family vacations to the beach, etc. yet she doesn’t care about that as much as going to the “playground”, aka the swing set in the backyard.

So…why do I still hustle so hard? It’s a twofold answer for me; let me explain.

The simple answer is I like having the financial means to do whatever I want without looking over my shoulder but that becomes a bit dishonest to defend what has become lifestyle creep. Growing up, I had an acute idea of the struggle and internally immersed myself with the true costs of life – for example, if I wanted a taco, I had to figure out how long I had to work to be able to pay for it without missing a beat. In 1995 dollars, the 79-cent crunchy taco took about twelve minutes to earn – minimum wage was $4.25/hour. Once I figured out that algorithm, I ended up applying it to most of my money decisions and picked up quite the reputation as a cheapskate. Truth of the matter is, being rich does not mean keeping up with the Joneses as capitalism imprints into our psyches; for me, it is having the mindset to prepare for a moment when emergencies happen without taking out some exorbitant loan and catching the subsequent lecture.

The other reason is because of how I’ve ended up working over the years:  In twenty-five years in the workforce, only ten months has been spent in a regular environment. I have neither the social graces nor the tongue to deal with office politics, rush hour traffic, or the potential ostracism due to a manager being intimidated by what I know thereby killing my growth in favor of his six-figure bonus. In other words, working twice as hard for half the respect and a fraction of the pay has been the bulwark of my evenings and nights on the clock, and for barbecue, a labor of love that is slowly becoming profitable. Reread the prior sentence to understand why I have never really been able to monetize my own value to my advantage.

Hustling is something that we are supposed to do to get us from one season to the next, not define our paths and ambitions. Yet it takes knowing when to step away from the grind of life to truly appreciate where we have been and what is ahead for us.