How Happy Are You Being A Rule Follower?
I’ve worked with enough people over my career to have observed that too many of them are unhappy with their direction in life. They’ve been on a train that they’ve been taught they’re supposed to be on, but it’s not taking them to where they really want to be.
They followed all of the rules, said all of the right things and unwittingly built a cage of misery around themselves. But what if the problem is that they’ve been taking the wrong advice? Following the wrong rules? Going down the wrong path entirely to get what they want out of life?
Well, I’ve got 5 important rules for everyone who feels this way. These rules will give you chills. They’ll help you achieve your goals and finally lead the sort of life that you’ve long dreamed of.
It’s Fine To Break The Rules As Long As You’re Doing No Harm
Everyone loves a maverick, right? My life has certainly benefited from taking the less worn path, but what people often misunderstand is that you can be an innovator, you can be a disruptor and you can break every rule along the way so long as you’re not leaving a wake of destruction behind you.
You’re going to have to make tough choices throughout your life and career, but you must do so with the foresight of knowing that things will come back to you. People will remember how you treated them. They will remember how your choices impacted them.
Break the rules. But don’t break people’s spirits.
Go After the Things You Want Even If It Might Hurt People’s Feelings
Is hurting people’s feelings different than doing no harm? I’d say that there is a difference that is well worth noting.
Breaking the rules destructively and doing so in a manner that entirely disregards others is creating negative energy.
Going after the things that you really want in life while being open and honest with others about those goals might potentially hurt their feelings, but you’re not causing intentional harm. You’re simply both learning that this is where your paths must separate. Maybe it’s temporary. Maybe the separation is permanent. But you’ve been open, you’ve been honest and you can both rest easy that there was no deceit in your relationship, just a difference in direction.
You’ve got one life. Go after the things that drive your excitement.
Practice Extreme Ownership
This might be hard to hear, but I tend to believe that everything in our lives is our own fault. This can be a really hard mindset to adapt to, but I promise you that once you do, you will be unstoppable.
I don’t want that for you. I don’t want that for anyone. People should feel empowered to face their personal tragedies, learn from them, take control of them, and turn those experiences into their greatest opportunities for success.
When I was younger, one of my first, most successful companies was unceremoniously taken from me. I was gutted. I felt lost. Like a failure. Luckily, through powerful mentorship, I was able to take that loss and turn it into a new company, one that I would eventually sell for over $150 million dollars.
And it’s because I owned my failure. I looked it in the eye. I saw everything that I missed.
Then, I turned it into success. You can do it, too.
Average Is Unacceptable
Does it ever feel good to just scrape by? When you were young, was your dream ever to just be a regular, average person? Of course not! When we’re children, we dream of being astronauts and rock stars and doctors and movie stars.
We dream big and then we find ourselves on a conveyor belt of boredom, just going through the motions and working for the weekend.
Is that what you dreamed for yourself? Better yet, is that what your parents wanted for you? If they are like most parents, they worked their butts off to give you a better life, to give you opportunities they never could have imagined.
Don’t settle for average. Make the choices that create an incredible life for yourself and for your family. Follow your dreams. Fulfill them. Spoil your parents. You’ll never regret it.
Sometimes You Have To Embrace the Pain
Listen, you need to realize that your life will sometimes feel harder because you have a higher calling.
When you’re the sort of person who has big dreams and even bigger goals — along with the willingness to actually go after them — it means that you’re more than likely going to live a different sort of life than others do.
This isn’t a 9 to 5 gig. This isn’t coasting. This life is one where you make short-term sacrifices in order to achieve long-term success.
A lot of people aren’t going to understand this. It might cause some strain on your relationships, but if you’re open and honest with those people and if you’re really willing to embrace the pain of saying no today in order to say yes to tomorrow, then it’s ultimately worthwhile.
Which rule resonates most with you?
I want to hear from you. I want you to achieve your goals. Let’s make that happen!
If you want to completely control your destiny, let me and my team at Cardone Ventures put you on the right track. Register for one of our upcoming events today.
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