One of the greatest secrets of the successful is this. Whatever the majority is doing then do the opposite. It makes a lot of sense. After all to be in the majority you pretty much by definition aren’t successful. For example if you wanted to get in shape what do the majority of people do to do so? They go on fad diets, hire a personal trainer, and then give up after a couple of months. Let’s look at dating, what do the majority of “men” do to attract women. They lavish them with praise, be a “gentleman”, and then go home and whine while she goes and bangs a real man. And what do the majority do to get rich? Either nothing, buy lottery tickets, or go to college.
That’s like trying to get smart by smashing your head into a wall repeatedly (it’s a guarantee it isn’t going to happen). Humanity for the most part operates barely above the level of an animal. If you look back through history you could get rid of ninety nine percent of people (if not more) and no great advancement, invention, work of art, or anything else worth mentioning would have changed. Other than great buildings that needed laborers. I’m not saying this to say that the masses are something we should spit on rather just if you want success never follow them.
Clueless Sheep
The average person is a clueless sheep. I’ve noticed this when I’ve asked others and how they would deal with a certain situation in life they throw up their hands clueless. For example ask the average man what he would do if he or his family were attacked. The normal response would be nothing, call the police, or again nothing. Likewise if you ask the average man what would he do is he was fired from his job and forced to find a new one. Again you’ll probably get an answer of nothing or a vague answer which amounts to again nothing. As if they believe they’ll never have to worry about either scenario.
People are not prepared. They go with the tide and then pray that the tide doesn’t take them somewhere they don’t want to go. They put their own fate into the hands of those with power (who probably hate them) and then cry and whine when they’re screwed over. Anyone who doesn’t take responsibility for their own life is going to be at the mercy of a world that is not merciful. You’ll be destroyed plain and simple. The masses go forward thinking there is no threat, when there are threats all around.
Comfort Is A Lie
This is because the masses seek comfort above all else. Comfortable numbness would be a good word to describe the average person. Is that who you want to become? Someone who is comfortably numb to reality? Just because you are numb to something doesn’t mean it won’t have an effect. Following the masses is a guaranteed way to be a failure. They are controlled by their baser instincts, the media, the “education” system, the government, and pretty much anything else that isn’t for their own benefit.
Never pursue comfort. Like the founders said if you pursue safety over freedom you’ll end up with neither. And we know how important freedom is. If what the majority was doing was right then the majority would get the results that they want. Rich jacked men who date super models would be the norm. Healthy adjusted women who are good looking would be the norm. If you look around you’ll see that that’s anything but the norm. Follow the masses always results in slavery, never freedom.
Walk Your Own Path
The only way to get success is to forge your path. The beaten path is the beaten path because it goes from the work place to the slave pit. Like cattle going from the grazing area to the slaughter house. The path is worn down, free from obstacles, and guarantees death. Only by going off the beaten path and pursuing your own way are you going to get where you want to go in life. Only by taking matters into your own hands, ignoring the majority (no matter how loud they bleat), and forging ahead despite resistance will you get to what you want.
Great reward comes from two things. Great risk and great effort. Listening to your teachers, parents, preachers, family, governing body will ensure that you always remain a slave. A bit of an overused saying but one that holds much truth “Eagles do not flock”. They do not gather around and hew and haw like the lesser birds do. They fly high and proud as should you. Success only comes from listening to that inner voice inside of you, getting good information from those brave few who have walked the path before, and ignoring the majority.
Summary
I’ll leave you with this great quote by Marcus Aurelius “The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane”. The majority is never right. When it comes to success, politics, or life. Go your own way and forge your own path. A lion would never enjoy the company of sheep for very long anyway. So in you want to be successful and to be a leader then do the opposite of what the majority does and is doing. You’ll go far.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.
-Charles Sledge
