This book offers a thought-provoking exploration of the pervasive busyness and chaos that often characterizes American life—a theme I resonate with deeply, having spent the past seven years in a country with a slower pace. Bethke's insights struck a chord with me, prompting both agreement and challenge. His engaging writing style paints vivid pictures, almost as if his words were echoing from a Sunday morning pulpit. The chapters are brisk, breezy, and effortlessly readable.

Yet, amidst the richness of metaphors and anecdotes, there were moments where I felt they overshadowed the intended messages. At times, these narratives threatened to eclipse the very points Bethke sought to convey. While captivating, some metaphors teetered on the brink of becoming overly intricate, nearing the verge of collapse themselves.

Bethke addresses the hustle culture that has continuously plagued society and even more specifically the younger generations. He reminds us that this isn't healthy and by stretching ourselves thin with hustling, whether it's the amount of hustles or simply the energy we give to them, we aren't doing ourselves any favors. I appreciate his voice of reason and his personality really leaps from the pages (if you haven't yet you should hear him speak, specifically his spoken words). He is kind and honest, straightforward yet compassionate. If you're feeling burnt out and like if you have to do it all, this is a voice and message worth listening to.

It's been awhile since I read this book, and I just realized I didn't leave feedback here (though I believe I reviewed in other places). I remember liking this book quite a bit. We all need to be able to shut down our lives, to unplug, and to carve out some sacred spaces against the world's "wisdom" of how we're "supposed" to operate as human beings. I also remember, though, occasionally having the feeling that this author's personal baggage sometimes got in the way and it sometimes took a dive down a rabbit hole that was less helpful to the reader, but perhaps more helpful to the author. That's cool. It happens sometimes, and it's great to see someone just being honest - even if maybe they don't realize HOW honest they're being.

This was a good book, definitely worth the read, and something I will read again.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic and spot on. It was exactly what I needed to read and so convicting! I’ll probably be reading it again.

To Hell with the Hustle is a good, much needed book for times like these. This book was easy to read and had many good points, though nothing totally new here. I find this is a good book for those who truly struggle with their time management at the moment.

“When our work becomes who we are and we derive our ultimate value and meaning from it, it runs the risk of becoming our god. The thing we worship. Bow down to. Become slaves of.”

Anyone else really resonate with that? I do. And honestly it doesn’t only apply to work for me; I feel the hustle to be a better teacher, sure, but I also feel the hustle to be a better friend, wife, Christian, and an entrepreneur (and that’s not even a desire of mine!). I feel like I have to constantly be doing things bigger and better. And when I can’t do that I feel the pressure to start something new to add to my plate. When does it end?! The answer is never - if we choose to live up to the hustle culture.

You guys - this book was so good. I just started my summer break and I’m already feeling the itch to do SOMETHING with my time. And this book helped me realize that ‘doing’ is not the healthiest option for me physically, mentally, socially, and especially spiritually.

You’ve gotta read it for yourself, but here’s my favorite pieces that I’ll be trying to incorporate into my life:
- Instead of goals, I’m going to analyze my motivations to determine if they’re in line with becoming more Christ-like. Because “becoming like Jesus is the one and only ‘goal’ we have”.
- Instead if running from the silence, I’m going to run to it.
- Instead of making my default answer “yes” to everything, it’s now going to be “no”. Instead of having to be convinced not to do something, I’d rather need convincing TO do it.

There was so much more than these three points that I loved. We all need to consider a life with no hustle before it’s too late. If that interests you at all, get your reading glasses on and get to changing.

Great subject matter in here. This is a book we could all stand to read because of the hustle culture in our society. This book takes a good hard look at why we need to all say fuck that.

This is a much needed book in this day and time. In a crazy busy technology world we are now living in, we are losing our true identities and what really matters in life. Our identity is not found in our number of followers and real relationship does not happen using a device. Jefferson Bethke is wise beyond his years and has realized what some of our actions nowadays will mean for ourselves and our society in the future. I respect him and his family for slowing down, taking time to rest, and taking time away from the devices. His message is one that needs to be heard by all.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Thank you NerGalley and publishers for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a great book about encouraging being present. It gives personal accounts from Bethke as well as some facts about how slowing down is a better approach to life. Going against the rush and busyness of life doesn't actually get us any further. In the end, we end up reflecting on how much we missed.

A great quick read if you are needing some motivation on resisting the urge of to hustle harder and faster.

This Christian based author details how his life started to spiral out of control, and was pulling him away from his family. He teaches his audience how to take steps towards learning what is the most important in their lives and how to embrace it. Bethke gives historical references that are intriguing (did you know that "goals" weren't really important until about one hundred years ago)? I felt the push to get rid of a lot of social media in my life, realizing, even more than I already did, how much of a waste of time it all is! If you would like to learn to live more in the present, and to slow down to an appropriate pace, this is the book for you! As the author states, "learn to say "no". Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

To Hell with the Hustle offers bits of great content on current cultural affairs and perspectives, something we can expect from Bethke! However, I did find that the book seemed to jump around quite a bit from concept to concept, and could maybe have been a little more cohesive.

This book was right on time. Being a millennial is complex and exhausting. The nature of work is different and finding that balance is a really struggle because of technology and a number of macro variables. Understanding the hustle and what makes sense for yourself is so important. This books gave a few gems to walk away with.

I have been a fan of Jefferson Bethke for years now and being able to listen to his audiobook was a sweet treat!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now I'm not one hundred percent super religious. Yet, I did like To Hell with the Hustle. I mean, I am Catholic but I'm never going to shove the bible quotes, or whatever else, down people's throats. Nor would I accept it from anyone else.

That being said, this book had some interesting points throughout it. However, I just wished the flow of the book was consistent throughout the entire thing. Especially since towards the end, I was just getting bored with everything. Maybe it's because it was just dumping so much information on me that I just couldn't appreciate it

It took me longer to get through this book than I expected. I wanted and needed this book, as a cross cultural worker I am always looking for fresh ideas to help combat fatigue and burnout. This book was well written, it was organizes and the author clearly has a talent for writing. This was my first encounter in his work and I would likely pick up another if it was about something I was interested in.

This book didn't have a ton of new or fresh ideas, and it focused quite a lot on technology, which is helpful but again nothing too new. I will likely take a look at the ideas in this book and assess how I was already using them and how I could re-evaluate my lifestyle.

If you are a follower of Jesus, this book will be a helpful, not life altering resource.

The publisher provided an ARC through Netgalley. I voluntarily read this book, these thoughts and opinions are my own honest review.

Directed at millennials (the whole broad lot of us), this book hits the mark 100%. I found myself highlighting passage after passage and really thinking about and questioning what has been drilled into us about working hard at all costs. This book is religious, but still very accessible to anyone who is not and was so encouraging in a practical, not fluffy bs, kind of way.

While Bethke makes several good points, they're drowned out by the book's many shortcomings. The way he talks about bodies is both dismissive and potentially dangerous and harmful. The way he uses the word "fat" is problematic. He seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how habits actually work. The book's overall tone is superior, judgmental, and aggressive. There are several extremely problematic references to other cultures and ethnicities, including an equation of Western with white. He demonstrates an overall dislocation from thousands of years of Christian tradition. I reached most of these conclusions within the first quarter of the book. I finished it in hopes that they could be overcome by the remainder of the book, but they were merely reinforced.

This is the first of Jefferson Bethke's books I read, even though I've followed him for quite some time. Let me just say - what an amazing read! I loved his conversational tone, how he pulled out some deep concepts in simple ways, and how easy this book was to read. At the same time, it was profound and powerful. Must read.

We glorify the "hustle" and doing it all both in Christianity and tge world . The idea that the drive to always be "doing" and striving is so often glorified, and the idea that it doesn't allow us to BE the people we need to be. I enjoyed the concept of the book and hope to take the "hustle" out of my life.

<i> "We are chasing freedom yet becoming slaves." </i>

<i> "What if the goal isn't to hustle but to be faithful?" </i>

The point of this book is to reflect on our busyness and the way we spend our time and resources- is it actually delivering the freedom it promises? how is it affecting us and our families? what do we lose when we don't truly rest or experience silence?

My husband started it and pointed out some science analogies he made that were inaccurate (there IS gravity on the moon, you won't float away, it's just less than earth; and the whole frog jumping out of gradually boiling water is a myth-- *not sure how these got past editing*) so I suppose my expectations were skewed when I started to read. But honestly, I thought it was a worthwhile book and found it better than I was expecting. Yeah some analogies weren't perfect, but the points he makes are still valid.

I don't feel like I'm currently in the 'hustle' mindset and may need to revisit this book when our kids are older and our schedule is busier, BUT I still found some good and convicting insights in this book.

I'm not really a regular goal-setter but I liked how he has eliminated the word 'goal' and replaced it with 'formation.' The semantics aren't what attracts me but rather his explanation. A goal is linear, and is focused on the endpoint, the accomplishment itself, whereas a formation is circular and is about the process. I've read several books lately that contrast 'doing' and 'being.' Sanctification and identity isn't what we do or accomplish but about who we are becoming in Christ, our 'being.' And I like to think of that as a circular process rather than a placement on a line. So much of following Christ is forgetting and remembering, a returning to <i> "the same place for refreshment and renewal" </i> or what he also classifies as a 'rhythm.'

I like that his book is targeting the lies we are sold that we just need to hustle more, try and work harder and we can reach our dreams and have the lives we want. That's not the message of the Bible but is the suffocating message of our culture.

His book is a compelling case for the ordinary. Not that following Jesus is boring and mundane in the sense that it's depressing and meaningless, but that faithfulness is ordinary. It's the everyday. The moments we have daily in the obscure lives we have now. It's a little uncomfortable to think about it in those terms because culture pushes the big, extraordinary, famous, and shiny as 'meaningful' lives. I thought it was interesting how he pointed out that the main thing we remember about Moses didn't happen until very late in his life. He had already spent decades being faithful tending sheep until God called on him to carry out His plan. We just need to be faithful in the place we have now until God calls on us.

Another sticking point for me was considering the Sabbath. It's one of the ten commandments that's easy to forget about. But it has caused me to think about what it means to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. How can we do this as a family?

He talks about fear being frantic. Much of our 'hustle' is done in fear not in faith. That resonated with me in how I've been feeling convicted lately to live and parent out of faith, not fear. So much of the media and culture is rooted in and plays to fear. It's always a good reminder to step back and evaluate what is driving us, what is our source, and what we are chasing.

One thing I felt the book was missing was the grace and the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. (I would recommend reading this in tandem with The Imperfect Disciple by Jared Wilson.) Life is about being, not doing, but 1) anything we become is not from our careful structuring of the 'perfect' work/life/rest balance but the Holy Spirit changing us and enabling us to do anything good; 2) the relationship between obedience and grace is a bit tricky- we are responsible for our choices and are held accountable for our use of our time and resources and how we treat others, etc, but we also are free to fail because his grace covers our imperfections. I think this book put a little too much emphasis on our own ability to create the 'correct life.'

That being said, there is a lot of assumption or interpretation that happens in reading books and Bethke is actually pretty good about clarifying where people may say, 'Yes, but...' And I don't think he would disagree with anything I just said but just chose to talk about other things.

There are some political comments in this book, but it's not in an effort to push a particular agenda other than rightly asking us to stop making politics part of our core identity. And I appreciate that. The polarization of politics is out of control and is causing people to evaluate other people's faith and moral character based on their voting record as if that is where our identity lies. In a book that has set out to challenge the things that our influencing us, you have to mention political things.

As a result of this book, am I going to radically change my life, throw out my phone, say 'no' to everything for the next year, boycott the internet, and spend all of Sunday praying- no, and he's not suggesting this. But you can bet this book has challenged me to be wiser in the things I say 'yes' to, wiser in my use of technology, sensitive to what I am allowing to influence my family and me and our identities, willing to experience silence, and above all- focusing on being more like Jesus- being faithful, the circular process of sanctification in the ordinary. There is freedom, and it's not found in hustling.