Heart & Hustle: Use your passion. Build your brand. Achieve your dreams. (226 pgs.) is an official millennial pep-talk packaged in lovely purple hues (book jacket) with white accents (hard cover). Following a sweet dedication to her daughter named Grace, Patricia Bright takes the reader on a winding, time-lapsed, nonsequential journey beginning with the deportation of her father during childhood while growing up in South London, to turning millions of social media followers into a multimillion-dollar business.
The book is filled with endeavors of motivational stories, references to basic research sources for supporting material and “Life Lessons” from the author, inclusive of interview techniques to land your first job. There are a total of 39 Life Lessons throughout. Also, included are spaces, little nooks and crannies, that allow the reader to reflect, write and document making it in part memoir, self-help and goal journal.
Bright is a successful millennial Youtuber based in London who focuses her channel on fashion and lifestyle. Recently, the business maven also launched The Break Platform, a channel focusing on teaching business and finances which already boasts over a quarter million followers.
"But what I’ve learned is that ultimately it doesn’t matter whether someone’s got a degree or not. It’s all about whether someone can apply themselves to a task, even if it isn’t the most glamorous thing to do, and deliver results. Success lies in the ability to learn and consistently execute."~Patricia Bright
Though upbeat and appealing to the eye, outside of the few personal stories Patricia shares, this book doesn’t really offer any new information. The value it brings to the reader is examples of how the author stays motivated, focused and approaches setbacks. If you are already a fan of Bright, you may find yourself closing the last chapter a little disappointed. The energetic, comedic wisdom that jumps off the screen during her videos doesn’t quite come across these pages the same way. We do however get a peek of what we love most about her: insights on the origins of Patricia’s glamorous yet practical theories around hard work, money, love and parenthood.
Considering the differences in English spellings and slang usage between British (UK) and American written correspondence (for example, words using “s” instead of “z” – recognise vs. recognize), there are multiple misspellings (or were they?) and typos before we even get to page 30. You’ll likely find a few here on ROTR so don’t dismiss this read just yet. To all the literature buffs, just know that - no, Patricia is not a writer of masterpieces. More like a social media giant who earned a book deal and was under a tight deadline. You won’t find beautiful sentence structures, scene descriptions or elegant syntax. However there is value in this read for those needing a confidence boost when thinking of working for themselves.
"The truth is, as with many things in life, a lot of us know what to do, but actually get up, be consistent and follow-up -that’s the challenge we must rise to." ~Patricia Bright
The title Hustle & Heart can be applied to Patricia’s muti-hustle nature which is described during the first few chapters and may be the most inspiring part of the book. As one of her very first jobs, Patricia recollects selling door-to-door from a kitchen catalog with a group of neighborhood friends which later lead to an “official” job in retail -fueling her passion for fashion. Throughout her journey in retail, Patricia kept multiple side hustles: styling hair, selling makeup and making YouTube videos. At University, as a result of loneliness, she began spending hours a day online in beauty chatrooms.
After college, Patricia went on to grow a successful career in financial consulting and banking while continuing to work on her YouTube channel. Following a layoff and a few bad bosses, her YouTube channel (and resulting revenue) began to grow. She then made the tough decision to become a full-time social medical star subsequently hitting 1 million followers on YouTube in 2017.
The book concludes with Life Lessons on self-love and a list of book recommendations for the win (see below)!
Chapter Summary:
Introduction
1. Natural-Born Hustler
2. Yes, I work for myself on the Internet!
3. The importance of building a following on Social Media
4. The science bit – practical advice for building up a social media profile
5. Taking your audience to the next level of growth
6. Online vs. Real Life
7. Create your wealth
8. A career vs. Going at it alone
9. How to run your empire
10. A woman’s world
11. Discovering who you are (and what you value)
12. Staying the course in style
13. The power of a Pep-talk
14. Streamline the Stress Away
15. Feeling Good From the outside in
Time to Say Goodbye
Patricia Bright’s recommended Reading List
1. Feel the fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
2. I am the problem by Soozey Johnstone
3. The Athena Doctrine by John Gerzema and Michael ‘Antonio
4. The 5 second rule: Transform your life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins
5. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money -That the Poor and Middle Class Do not! By Robert Kiyosaki, with Sharon Lechter
6. Money Masters of Our Time by John Train
As always, Happy Reading Friends!
Xoxoxoxoxoxo,
ROTR
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