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The Side Hustle Allure
Legit, or just the Millennial version of the American Dream?
I don’t want to tell you that your hobbies can be making you money, or that all side hustles are doomed to fail. I don’t want to sell you a course, and I don’t want to buy one either.
I simply want to think.
The 20th Century says ‘Hi’
Every now and then, an article pops up on my feed about side hustles. It’s a trendy topic for sure, but apart from that, there seems to be a hunger for this idea — an addiction. A last hope, a lifeline.
The thrill of the feeling that all our dreams might just come true, cash bonus included.
And sadly, it reminds me of the American Dream of the 20th Century — the same one that is criticised by F. Scott Fitzgerald in ‘The Great Gatsby’ or the 1949 play ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller. In their own way, both of these works show the futility of the American Dream.
Essentially, the American Dream centres around the idea that anyone who works hard enough, can make enough money to get to the top. Graft, grift, — whatever it’s called these days — will never let you down.
But this idea’s been pretty much done with. Though it’s the guidance that Millennials were taught, it’s the myth…