When you study global thought-leaders and those who are outrageously successful, we can learn that they have many traits in common and rules that they live by: 

Successful people are responsible and they realise that everything that happen to them -- be it positive or negative are direct consequences of their thoughts and actions. 

Successful people are not lucky. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity -- the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Successful people doesn't set realistic goals, you don't need goals to live a life of mediocrity.

Successful people don't blame their circumstances, they show up, commit and go all in.  

But one of the most underestimated and least understood traits of successful people are that they are unreasonable. Their actions, thoughts and procedures are unreasonable; sometimes to a point where it's socially unacceptable. Below are 3 reasons why unreasonable people are successful. (This article was largely inspired from The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone.)

 

 

1. They Don't Believe In Competition

Apple computers and smartphones have completely dominated today's technology industry and they've done so by being completely unreasonable. Thought leaders are people who design the future with forward thinking. 

Long before Apple began to dominate the tech industry, there already were firmly established tech giants such as IBM, Dell and Microsoft that pervaded the market. Their dominance was so great that most would not dare to go against these companies. Mediocre companies with realistic visions "understood" that there were no room for them in the market. However Apple thought different. They did not blame their circumstances, the market, nor did they fear their competitors. They refused to play it safe and did not copy what others were doing. 

Forward thinkers don't copy nor do they compete -  but they create and dominate. Today, Apple doesn't compete; they dominate and repeatedly create success for themselves, completely dominating the trend of its industry, leaving others to try and copy them. 

Who would have thought that there will be a day when it's normal to see thousands of people queuing to buy phones? I know I didn't and it still sounds absurd, but Apple made it into a reality. 

 
Do you hear on the news that the market is crumbling?

Do you see people losing their jobs?

And when you do, does it scare you? 

If it does, it's because you're thinking reasonable and thinking to compete with others and to just get by. If you really want to create abundance and success in your life, you should think like Apple. Don't think to compete but think in terms of dominance. Don't copy others to become just another inferior version of them, but create your own value within your household, workplace and business. Don't play safe and start to create your own success in life. After all, you're responsible for everything that happens in your life. 
 

 

 

2. They Are Unreasonable With Their Goals

Successful people have unrealistic and over-the-top goals. They understand that it doesn't require goals to live a mediocre life and once goals are set, they will do anything to achieve their goals. 

Some critics claim that having unreasonable goals are unhealthy because it's likely to repeatedly create senses of personal mediocrity and failure whenever you realise that your goals are unrealistic. I've covered this topic in a previous article and how you can overcome this problem. 

There's a lot of flaws with having reasonable goals. Morty Lefkoe, the president and co-founder of The Lefkoe Institute and the author of "Live An Unlimited Life" states that "reasonable goals are consistent with what is predictable, what's likely to happen, and are consistent with your existing beliefs." This means that your goals exist within your comfort zones and "inside the box." Realistic goals are definitely attainable but they will never be remarkable or ground breaking. 

Let's think Apple again. If you truly want to be successful -- in any aspects of your life, you need to think outside of the box and create something that other's have not. Unreasonable goals forces you to be outside of your comfort zones, unlearn existing beliefs and create a breakthrough. Morty Lefkoe further comments that, "The biggest barrier most people have to happiness and success is not an inability to deal with the world as it really is. Their biggest barrier is a world filled with many self-imposed limitations."

Successful people don't operate in the same world as the rest of us and remember, small thinking has and always will be punished in one way or another. "Realistic thinking and goals" are based on what others think is possible and not based on your potential and purposes. 

 

 

3. They Take Unreasonable Actions

The 10X rule by Grant Cardone is all about putting in 10 times the thoughts and 10 times the actions of other people to create personal success and market domination, regardless of the circumstances. The number one trait that sets apart the successful from the mediocre is action. Anyone can set goals, plan and even visualise their success, but not everyone is disciplined or courageous enough to take massive action to actually achieve their goals.

Successful people don't just set unreasonable goals but they also take unreasonable actions. They don't act in accordance with the agreed-upon realities and make the "impossible" into a "possible". Grant Cardone puts things into perspective by saying, "Would we have cars, airplanes, space travel, telephones, and the Internet - in addition to thousands of other things we take for granted - if someone hadn't done something that another person had labeled "unreasonable"?" 

It's usually the unreasonable ones that make a difference in the world. 

A good example of a figure that achieved outrageous success and changed the world through unreasonable actions is Steven Spielberg. 
 

Steven Spielberg was a college drop-out who had unrealistic goals and ambitions for the filming industry. At the age of 17, Spielberg was introduced to some work at the Universal Studios from a family friend who as an editorial executive there. Although Spielberg had very limited access to its facilities, he showed up every day and sneaked into their premises, taking every opportunity he could to further his education on filming. No matter how many times he was thrown off the set, his drive and passion continuously forced him to take actions which others would label as "unreasonable." With persistence, Spielberg created his own opportunity to film a short called Amblin in three different production platforms, and soon he was offered a seven year contract to become the youngest director ever to be hired by the studio. 

Today, Steven Spielberg is a three-time Oscar winner, a director and producer of more than 180 titles including E.T., Saving Private Ryan and Jaws. Films directed by Spielberg have grossed over $8.5 billion to date. 

 

If you truly want to create abundance, joy and success in your life, stop thinking and acting like the rest of us. Your thoughts and actions are the reasons why you are where you are right now. So shift your mindset to total domination, set unreasonable goals and take massive action to create your own success. Just like Apple or Spielberg, your potential is limitless and only bound by your own self-imposed limitations. 

 

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