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      Introduction to The Academic Hustle

      Hustle - To have the courage, confidence, self-belief, and self-determination to go out there and work it out until you find the opportunities you want in life.

      —UrbanDictionary.com

      Many people believe that to make money you have to be established in a career. I prefer to make money now. This book details the system I discovered as I was trying to get paid while still in school.

      The Academic Hustle is about grinding and getting paid now, as in sending-an-email-or-fine-tuning-your-résumé-while-this-book-is-open-and-next-to-the-keyboard now. It is a systematic approach to earning money while developing a career. You can become a competitive candidate for any school, program, scholarship, or job by applying this system to your life. It is organized around the following concepts: Three Fundamental Truths, The Foundation, Four Pillars, and Two Costs.

      Three Fundamental Truths

      There are Three Fundamental Truths about making money in this world:

      1. Money is exchanged for value

      “For the Love of Money” by The O’Jays is classic R&B. My uncles would sit around at family gatherings sipping on Millers while that song played. They would reminisce about friends that had gone mad chasing money in vain, only for it to end with them either in jail or dead. With so many lives lost and ruined in pursuit of money, it is very easy to assume it is the answer to all things. It seems impossible to convince those who’ve never had it that money isn’t everything. Before we go any further, let’s put its true value in perspective.

      Money is simply a medium of exchange – period. It has no value outside of what we place on it. Most of us desire money because of the things we can get in its exchange. Some things such as friendship, love, and loyalty lose integrity and value when one attempts to gain them in exchange for money. Nevertheless, many are impressed with the respect and attention money can bring their way. It is not the physical money that we seek, but the options and value we can gain by acquiring it.

      Throughout our lives, we constantly exchange money for the things we value, whether it is clothes, food, or cars. On both ends of the exchange, we are usually giving more value to the other person. For example, when you pay for a shirt, you are receiving something you can wear and feel good in. You pay money for that shirt because you believe the value you get out of wearing it is worth more than (or equal to) the price. You can wear it repeatedly for this one-time payment. By the same token, the retailer has secured that shirt at a discount and is selling it to you at a premium to maintain their business and make a profit. It is a win-win situation.

      The same goes for someone who is giving money. People value the act of giving or helping someone else out. Many people feel satisfied knowing that they played a part in aiding a cause or person in need. Others enjoy being seen by others as a person of power and influence. Many will drop a few dollars in the bucket for the Salvation Army, give a twenty-dollar bill to a Girl Scout for a box of cookies and tell them to keep the change, or write a check to create scholarships in their church. When one gives and documents it, there is also the bonus of getting a reduction in how much one pays in taxes to the government while being charitable.

      On the other hand, when earning money, someone is exchanging money for the product or service you provide. Employers pay their employees for the value they produce. Scholarship committees are awarding money to people they believe are valuable to their mission, organization, or department. When money is involved, there is always an exchange occurring.

      2. Value is determined by people

      People determine what is valuable. As a collective, society has placed value on money as the primary source of exchange. If we were to take that same currency of money to another group of people in another country, it will most likely not have the same power or value.

      We determine what is valuable to us. Some of us value cake, while others value fruit. Some of us value going to the movies, while others value hiking. Some of us will pay hundreds of dollars for shoes, while others will spend that on a new phone. The value of something depends on whom you’re talking to in that moment and their perception.

      Employers and scholarship committees are no different; they have a set of skills, qualities, and experiences they value more so than others. If you want to get that job, scholarship, or fellowship, you must understand what the selection committee values and show that you value the same.

      3. People are human

      All companies, organizations, and institutions are run by people. People no different than you and me make the decisions to hire, promote and award scholarships. Your teachers, bosses, and colleagues are all human. It can be difficult to remember that when titles and protocols get thrown around. Trust and believe that the seemingly well put together person on the other side of the desk has family issues and drama with their friends. They like to joke, have fun, and spend far too much time on their phones while on the toilet. Just like you and me, they have likes, dislikes, and judge others based upon their own perspective. We naturally

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