On Sunday my friend Joseph McKeating wrote an article called The Myth of Similar Successful Qualities. In it, he argues that articles like “10 Habits of Successful People” and “5 Things to Do Like These People” are misleading because success depends on many things, but being a copycat is not one.

Imitating them will only lead to mediocrity. The reason they were successful is because they knew what worked for them, not you.

I agree… mostly. Thing is, it’s a natural instinct to try and imitate successful people. Some of us are so susceptible that we start following the same accounts or use the same words as our idols, not to mention stalking and starring/re-tweeting everything they say and do (guilty).

And these articles not only reflect this tendency but also make it worse. The fact that someone succeeded because they had a lucky letter opener doesn’t mean you should immediately rush to the stationery store and buy one.

I don’t even know where they sell them, are they still in use?!

Of course, you can just do your own thing. God knows that’s more than enough and who the hell has time to read top 10 lists anyway? They are way too repetitive and basically flooding the place. Like cans of spam.

Like that HUGE WAVE OF ZOMBIES APPROACHING on Plants vs. Zombies.

But here’s my solution to Joe’s argument and your natural predicament:

You don’t want to imitate successful people, but look at what they do and choose what fits you, or tailor it to you.

To achieve that, you should avoid Top 10 lists and try Life Hacks.

Life Hacks are the upgrade of Top 10. When you list 10 things in one place, you can’t go in depth, and so the reader’s left with partial information, from which they cannot form opinion or take action.

The problem there is that these lists usually lack takeaways. They don’t explain WHY something worked and HOW it can work for the reader.

Some successful startup blogs never do more than 3 main points on one main topic, so they could fit in the takeaways. Examples: buffer & ooomf.

If you do 10 points and 10 takeaways, you’ll have a 10K post, and nobody — not even the most avid reader — will suffer through that on their way to an important meeting or while drinking their morning coffee.

Life hacks, on the other hand, don’t tend to come in bulk.

And the best thing about them is that they offer specific solutions to common problems. The top 10 lists address imaginary problems, not real ones, not to mention some of the habits and rituals people adopt are plain superstition. Like the athletes who have to use a “lucky ball” to win.

Like Joe said,

They’re attempting to connect dots where dots can’t be connected.

If your startup is failing, it’s not because you haven’t read Autobiography of a Yogi like Steve Jobs or because you failed to wake up at the same time every morning like this popular list on Addicted 2 Success suggests.

The only useful piece of advice on a list like this was:

If God calls you, pick up the damn phone.

It’s what Lady Gaga said when she got inspired to create in the middle of the night. The article itself is a congregation of quotes by famous people, which I suppose is better because it openly says: this is mostly entertainment.

So there is some value in lists, but in a broad, non-practical way.

When you have a specific problem, you need a specific solution.

I’ve been reading so many life hacks lately that my brain is buzzing with them. But not once have I thought ‘I have seen this a million times before’. Life Hacks tend to be personal, which makes them original. It’s the unique experience of the hacker delivered to the unique perception of the reader.

If you ask me, this is the perfect recipe for success, not top 10.

However, there is another psychological explanation behind people’s preference to top 10 lists. According to Buffer (whose blog is awesome):

The Takipi research found that while numbers work well in headlines, digits in particular are more shareable. For instance, instead of “Ten ways to…” you should use “10 ways to…” In the analysis, higher numbered lists (e.g. “100 ways to…”) were shared more, as were headlines that started with a digit.

I myself am tempted to open and share big roundups if they are useful. But if they bring nothing new to the table, no digit will ever convince me.

If you have a blog and you’re tempted to do research on successful people and their daily habits, look at your own habits and write about them instead. How do you avoid email burnout? Do you have secret ways to alleviate traffic rage? What did you do the last time someone yelled at you? (Don’t say counted to 10.)

Be original, be yourself, and people will follow you. ☺

Here is one of my own life hacks:

To keep my mood light and positive throughout the day AND be more productive, I read an inspirational quote in the morning. In addition, I do my best to apply it throughout the day if I encounter any problems.

I do this to solve my problem of being prone to negative thoughts and work-related stress. Some people stress easily, and it goes without saying, it affects the way they do business. I’ve turned down many great deals and missed out on many opportunities because of the stress involved in the process.

Once I applied the hack, everything changed. I could focus on solutions, be more grateful, and look on the bright side. Stress is not my best friend anymore and I don’t even remember what it was like to throw myself in an irrational frenzy over something somebody said at work.

It’s like turning the inner critic into an inner cheerleader.

You see? In under 100 words, I gave you a doable hack that you can try for yourself, and only those of you who have the same problem as me would try it, which is your biggest takeaway: you don’t waste time trying things that know won’t work for you. You only try what fits.

I hope this helped bring perspective to the whole Top 10 debate. And thank you, Joe, for being the inspiration behind it. Readers, please feel free to follow up on this with your own unique life hacks. I really want to learn new tricks.