You can’t be an innovator if you follow the crowd.
Instead, you have to think differently and even see the world differently.
If you have a deeply held desire to do something significant with your life then you have to throw away the rule book.
Forget your degrees and MBA’s. As you’ll discover from the following 9 quotes, from three rebel CEO’s, it’s the people who challenge conventional thinking that end up shaping the world.
Take note of their words and apply them to your life.
The former Apple CEO was the innovator behind some of the world’s most popular tech products today.
Here are three of his most powerful quotes.
1. Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes . . . because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Why is it crazy to think you can change the world?
Because you’re just one insignificant individual.
Who are you to think you know better than powerful institutions and leaders in positions of power?
You’re nothing (or at least this is what the system wants you to believe).
And most people do, believing it’s folly or arrogance to think anything else.
So, if you happen to be “crazy enough” to question this “truth” then you’ll discover that competition is scarce on the cutting edge of innovation.
You CAN change the world simply because 99% of people aren’t going to try.
2. People think focus is saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the 100 other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.
Most would be entrepreneurs, artists and creators make this mistake.
There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive.
Most people can find some area of their business to work on for 8 hours a day. However, can you find that one task which, by focusing on, is going to bring you 80% of your results?
Learn to say no to everything else.
3. I would rather gamble on our vision than create a “me, too” product.
There are two approaches to creating products.
You can analyse the market, see what’s popular and create a product based on this feedback.
This product will be boring and unoriginal but it might sell relatively well based on the fact there’s a tried and tested market for what you’re creating. For example, see the plethora of meaningless superhero movies that have hit the big screen from around 2005 until now. They all do relatively well financially (although that’s beginning to change) but nobody is going to remember them 30 years from now.
The other approach is creating a product you believe is going to be of great service to the world and is of deep personal significance to you (typically because it’s part of a vision you’ve had).
As Steve Jobs says, this is more of a gamble. There might not be a market for what you’re creating. However, if what you’re creating anticipates what people need, you could change the world with your work (see Apple creating the iPhone or George Lucas making first Star Wars movie).
The CEO of Tesla and the owner of SpaceX has disrupted the status quo of entire industries, proving that a rebel can take on established interests and win.
Here are three of his most powerful quotes.
4. When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour.
Sometimes innovation is NOT rational.
One of two situations can occur. Either you do your market research and it indicates there isn’t a place for your product or there just seem to be too many obstacles and regulations blocking your path.
If this is the case, what do you do?
Give up on your dream?
Not if you believe it’s the right thing to do.
Tesla should never have been a success. For over a decade they operated at a loss and required huge government subsidies to stay afloat. However, because Musk believed that switching to renewable energy was an important enough quest, he forged ahead irrespective of the odds not being in his favour.
5. Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.
This quote makes me laugh.
It speaks to the struggles that every entrepreneur will face when trying to turn their vision into reality.
Understand that the innovators journey is far harder than the followers or even the leaders. They obey, and rule over, the status quo. It falls on your shoulders to change it.
Realise that you’re going to face some soul searching moments. Perhaps many of them. However, you should also understand that you’re not alone in this experience and that you can come face to face with the abyss yet still succeed.
6. I’ve not read any books on time management.
Although there’s nothing wrong with reading books, taking courses and paying for 1 to 1 coaching, they are NOT a pre-requisite to success.
Musk is legendary for his productive output, simultaneously running a car company, a space exploration company and a social media platform. However, he dropped out of Stanford University after two days and doesn’t seem to be a big believer in listening to guru’s or experts.
Instead, he seems to value learning on the job.
Sometimes this is best approach to take.
Throw yourself into your work, keep refining your skills and product and learn from your failures. You don’t need much more than that.
The founder of the Virgin Group has had success in the music, airline and telecommunications industries despite having little formal education.
Here are three of his most powerful quotes.
7. You don’t learn to walk by following the rules. You learn by doing and by falling over.
This is a much overlooked fact. No one presents a baby with a list of steps so they can master walking.
Instead, the baby takes instinctive action and then learns through experience.
Why wouldn’t life and business work the same way?
Discovering this insight is a breath of fresh air. It means there’s no barrier to entry.
Richard Branson didn’t study a course on how to run a record company (he famously left school at 16) yet he became successful with Virgin Records at the age of 22.
Of course, sometimes it can help to learn from external sources but there’s no substitute for the lessons learned through personal experience.
8. Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.
The world of business and work is way too serious. There are too many rules and too much pressure.
Do you want to spend the remaining decades of your working life feeling uptight, stressed and bored?
Surely not.
So take heed of Branson’s advice and bring the fun into your place of work.
The reason fun is such an important quality is because it’s a close cousin to inspiration.
Find ways to enjoy yourself at work and you’ll spark your creative mind and work at a faster pace.
Furthermore, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing then why do it?
Life is too short to make money your sole motivation for working.
Leave your job if that’s the case and find work that improves your quality of life.
9. Business opportunities are like buses; there’s always another one coming along.
Don’t ever feel like you’ve missed the boat. You live in a universe of infinite opportunity.
Look at Richard Branson. The Virgin Group has over 40 different companies, including a wine club, health clubs and a publishing company.
If Branson had missed out on any of these opportunities do you think he’d have spent the rest of his life ruing his loss?
No, he’d have just moved on and found a new industry to invest in.
You can do the same.
Someone else may have already succeeded with an idea similar to yours but that doesn’t exclude you from having a new one.
Technology, culture and trends are changing all the time.
If you keep your finger on the pulse, you’ll be able to take advantage of the opportunities this creates.
These 9 quotes have been included to fill you with the belief that you CAN succeed.
There is an innovator within you. Sometimes all it takes to bring it out is rejecting conventional thinking and giving yourself the permission to go for what you want.
If you want to discover a passion you can make a living from and overcome the fears that are holding you back, check out my free course 30 Days to Escape The System. Click here to get the course right now! (You’ll find the tips on developing belief and self-confidence fascinating!)
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