Pray, Work, Hustle (in That Order)
Meeting “Hustle”
The first time I recall hearing the word “hustle” was during basketball practice, when my coach forcefully yelled out, “Hustle, girls!”
The ball had been let loose and was rolling furiously across the court. By the look of intensity on her face, I deduced Coach was referring to one of us getting to that ball as fast as we could.
Ever since those practices, I’ve grown to appreciate and even love that word, hustle—particularly this definition: “to obtain by energetic activity.” I used it at school and then throughout my career.
As my daughters prepare for their summer basketball camp this week, “hustle” meets me yet again. I want my girls to learn to hustle at camp, just like I hustle at work. But, I also want to teach them some lessons I’ve picked up along the way.
Glam Hustle
I seemed to be living the career dream—traveling across the country, visiting television sets, meeting soap stars, booking high-profile client meetings. And yet, I was empty inside.
Big decisions would come my way: What research did I need to include in my pitch? How many meetings could I book before submitting my reports? Daily choices came at me quickly, and I moved quickly.
“I’m working in New York headquarters!” I thought. “I’m attending Miami festivals!”
This was the glamourous work life, indeed, and my hustling got me here. (Me, me, me.)
How wrong I was!
It didn’t take long for the excitement to come crashing down. Supervisor and colleague relationships soured, budgets were cut, and clients weren’t interested in initiating contracts. How I wish I’d had my faith to lean on, but I didn’t even have a relationship with God then.
Faith-inspired Hustle
I still believe it’s important to work hard to make things happen. Hustling does produce results. But just two years ago, the light switch finally went on. I hadn’t put God at the center of my career—or my life, for that matter.
At the start of my reversion, a woman in my Catholic women’s study group said that she prayed all day.
Pray all day? How could you possibly have the time to pray all day when you are working and hustling?
Slowly, I received the grace to understand. My morning prayer time started trickling into mid-day, and my noon prayer started morphing into one long conversation that lingered into night. I began praying, working, and hustling all at the same time.
As I face new challenges at work, instead of crediting myself, I give every praise, decision, and question to God. “Lord, help me to work with patience.” “Guide my words in this meeting.” “I need a graphic designer! Where do I go?” (The Catholic Women in Business Facebook group assisted me with this one—done and found, thanks be to God!)
With a cup of coffee by my side, I pray this “morning prayer before starting work” that I found online to begin my workday. And yes, I’m telling my girls to hustle at camp and work hard—but to pray first, always first!
Lilia Grundy is University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business’ Director of Corporate Partnerships with over 20 years of corporate experience (including Kraft Foods, NBC Television, and Telemundo). Lilia launched Catholic Women Professionals to inspire other working women to grow their faith. She is married to her high school sweetie Rob - they have beautiful twin girls who love art, music and learning about the Saints.