If you missed the Introduction, please read it here

Introduction: What Do the Most Successful People Have in Common?

Part1: Propensity to Break Rules

In the introduction to this series I listed the propensity to break rules as one quality possessed by most of the successful people.

There are rules in life; rules for success and rules for failure. Some rules are written down rules while others are implied. Whichever the case, society lives by these rules.

I have observed that a remarkable thing about most successful people is how they break rules with impunity; that is, how they violate of everyday principles dictated by conventional wisdom. They do something differently, regardless of the consequences. When necessary, they do not hesitate to break the rules held sacred by conventional wisdom.

I would talk briefly about my first subject BJ, a colleague I’ve known since the early 1990s. You may choose to call BJ the Self Praiser because that’s exactly who he is. He praises himself to death.

There is a rule in life that says

“Do not blow Your Own Horn”

“Do not Toot Your Own Horn”

“Let others Praise You, not Yourself”

All three are saying the same thing. In fact, you’re more likely to make more enemies if you violate these rules. This rule, when religiously obeyed, can be greatly counter productive. It might have been the case for last two centuries but the competitive world we have today challenges this mindset.

I did not like BJ and the very reason I did not like him is the reason he’s gone to places I may never go. Spend an hour with BJ and you will know every skill and talent BJ has. In fact, by the end of the hour, you’ll know enough about him to write his resume for him.

On the surface BJ is an ordinary person. I may be smarter than he (OMG!) but his self praising attitude has earned him invitation to places you can only dream of; he has been hired to do that which you can tutor him.

I realize that some people are born with this quality. Others obey the rule of ‘don’t blow your own horn’ to such an extent that they never expose who they are and what they know.

Unfortunately, the world is not made of psychics. No one is going to know who you are and what you know until you tell them.

My challenge to you is that unless you’re Oprah Winfrey and you have everybody praising you, throw this rule under the bus. Dump it!

There can be strength in humility. Know that meekness does not equate weakness.

Start today. Sell what you know. God gave that to you to make a living on it and help your society. Break the rule.

If you aren’t Oprah, no one is going to praise you until you start praising yourself. Do it until others start praising you, then you can hand it over to them.

What other rules do these folks break? To be continued.

Please check back

Next on this series

Conclusion on Breaking Rules &

Passion