You Cannot Live an Unconventional Life with Conventional Thinking
“If you want to get better than conventional results, it’s important to ignore the conventional wisdom.” -Seth Godin
Conventional wisdom is generally accepted as what’s “right” and what should be followed if you want to live a good life.
Think of anything and there’s probably a list of preconceived conventional wisdom that will tell you what to think, what to do, and how to feel about it.
Most people do not question this and will be quick to disregard unconventional thinking as “Naive, foolish, and unrealistic” simply because they do not see anyone else doing it.
But these folks will never have anything more than a conventional life because conventional thinking is thought poison. It will freeze your mind, limit your progress, and prevent you from living the life you really want.
You Cannot Live an Unconventional Life with Conventional Thinking.
Here’s why:
An Uncommon Life Needs an Uncommon Approach to living it
“Anyone who dreams of an uncommon life eventually discovers there is no choice but to seek an uncommon approach to living it.” -Gary Keller
Conventional living produces a conventional life.
If you want to live a life different to everyone else, you have to live in ways different from everyone else.
Like Anthony Moore once wrote,
“If you want to live the extraordinary life no one else is living, you’ll have to start living a life no one else does.”
Are you living a life no one else does?
Or are you following the same rules everyone else does?
Because you have a choice. You can defy conventional wisdom and create new rules to live the life you want.
Think about the things you do daily, think about how you spend your time. Is everyone else doing these same things? If so, give them a second thought.
Look at things in new ways, question even the obvious things and ask, “why is everyone doing this the way they are?” Is this the best way? Or is there a better way?
Said bestselling author, Raymond E. Feist,
“Never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the only solution.”
To Achieve Greatness You’ve Got to be Willing to get Laughed at
“If you want to improve, you need to be OK getting laughed at. This is how greatness is achieved. This is how becoming a master works. First, they laugh at you. Then, they criticize you. Finally, they brag to others how they know you.” -Anthony Moore
My habits are downright strange to most people.
People laugh when I say I need to be in bed by 6:45 pm to get up at 2:45 am.
An entire room once looked at me like I was insane when I said I only eat in a 4-hour window.
And I don’t mind that at all.
Because here’s what happens when you break away from conventional thinking:
At first, people notice that you’re doing something different, and think you’ve gone mad or even insane for the decisions you make.
They constantly ask why you do what you do and repeatedly tell you that you’d be better off doing what everyone else is doing because its the “right way.”
But after a while, their attitudes begin to change, the results begin to show and people no longer ask why you do what you do, they instead ask how you do what you do so they can have what you have.
This is how greatness is achieved. You’ve got to be willing to go against the crowd, you’ve got to be willing to get laughed at, because standing out pays off in the long-run.
Wrote 18 times bestselling author, Seth Godin,
“Fitting in is a short-term strategy, standing out pays off in the long-run.”
In Conclusion
“Create a vision and never let the environment, other people’s beliefs, or the limits of what has been done in the past shape your decisions. Ignore conventional wisdom.” -Tony Robbins
Most people aren’t living the life they really want.
They’re just doing what everyone else is doing without taking the time to think and question if it’s really what they should be doing.
You don’t have to live that life. Don’t accept that because there’s a solution, it must be the right solution. If you want to improve, be willing to stand out, and be willing to get laughed at.
Ask yourself “Do I want to live a life the way everyone else says it should be done, or am I going to create my own rules and live a life that everyone else says can’t be done?”
