6 Rules of SuccessI get asked all time how I've been successful in my lifetime.
I started out with nothing.
$0 and living on my own at an early age, a high school dropout.
I worked at learning computers every minute of the day for decades.
Before I knew it, everyone around me was coming to me for the next idea, the next problem to solve.
Not having a strong support system that most post-sec schooling students had.
I clung to 80s and 90s role models in Hollywood like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
His 6 rules of success resonated with me and I adopted them in the same regard as others would adopt religious beliefs.
His rules of success are:
1) Trust Yourself - If you don't believe you will be successful, nobody else will.
2) Break Some Rules - Not the law , but the rules you think society has placed on you or holding you back.
3) Don't be Afraid to Fail - Learn from your mistakes and eventually there won't be any failures you are not prepared for.
4) Ignore the Naysayers - The easiest rule but sadly the hardest to follow. When people tell me I'm wrong, or a clown I feel energized that I'm on the right path.
5) Work Like Hell - I can't understate how much this rule is required. If you're not constantly learning and working towards your goal, others will pass you.
6) Give Something Back - When you mastered the other 5 rules, you will be successful. When you are, help someone out, encourage others, tell your story and it might inspire the next Arnold.
When I was given my first shot, everyday I worked overtime. In the office before everyone, the last to leave. I wasn't even paid OT (salary position).
It wasn't long before I noticed the CEO getting to the office earlier to beat me in and staying until I left.
My first pay raise was x2 my salary after the first 3 months. That was shortly after I cost the company nearly 100k in shipping charges when I made a mistake in programming that was shipped out across the country.
The moral of the story is the CEO saw how hard I was working, changed his routines to support me (giving something back, working like hell) and looked past any mistakes.
When I left and went to my next job, I was senior, then given ownership, now on my own.
If you work like hell for what makes you happy. You will get it.
