Hello Aluxers! What if we told you there are 15 Rules of Success that can make the difference between making it or ending up like everyone else?
It’s hard to boil success down to only 15 rules, but we took all our experience and decided to take a swing at it.
Success means different things for different people.. For some it might be getting the job you’ve always wanted, for others is running your own business, for some it might be living a simple yet happy life while others enjoy the intricacies and challenges the world presents.
To put it simply:Success means turning your desires into reality!
Most people get it wrong,
Success isn’t a destination – you don’t set your goal on being successful – instead, you can become really good at something and as a result, in the eyes of others, you will be seen as successful.
Success is a side benefit of winning at the game you’re playing!
This is a crucial difference that those of you who like to skip the intro to these videos will most likely miss.
Here’s the video version of this article on Rules of Success if you don’t feel like reading the entire thing:
With this made clear, here’s our take on 15 Rules of Success.
1: Have a vision & a plan or all you’ll be left with are dreams
People who don’t know where they want to go, get swept up by the current and their lives are no longer theirs.
Other people will choose for you, who you are, what you do, what you like, whom to marry, what to do with your spare time and more, until there’s nothing left of the person you once thought you are.
If you want to be successful, you need a north star!
You need to have a target, a clear goal on which all your efforts are focused.
2: If you don’t ask the answer is NO
This point gets expanded to: You miss every opportunity you don’t go for!
Here’s why this rule is so important. In almost all cases, even if you don’t get the answer you wanted, the default result is your current state! You’re not losing anything but a bit of time, and considering your current reality, you’ve got plenty of that.
In gambling terms, this is called: A FREE ROLL!
Which translates to, although there’s a small change you get it, there’s no downside to trying.
Here’s the real secret behind this: It’s a number’s game!
When we were starting out everybody told us it’s unlikely that we’ll make it, because 9 out of 10 businesses fail.
Our answer was simple: We’ll just build 10 businesses!
It didn’t take 10 times, but what became ALUX was our 4th try.
You only need to get it right once and your life changes!
3: 80% DONE NOW > 100% Never
We’re all perfectionists, which is why not that much gets done. People obsess about the littlest of things and get stuck in the process to the point in which they abandon the entire effort.
The world is better off with little value put out than it is without any of it!
Your job is to get value out as soon as possible. This teaches you more about the world, about yourself, than anything else.
Take our Sunday motivational videos for example: we could have easily spent another full month working on this video alone, doing more animations, polishing the graphics, but the 80% value lies in the information. The presentation is good enough for you to get the value, everything else is just decoration.
Don’t get us wrong, decoration is fun, awesome, but people want the cake, not the candles you put on top!
If you want to be successful you have to stop self-sabotaging. It will never be perfect. Get it out and then build on top of what the feedback is.
In the tech space this is called: a minimum viable product or MVP. it’s the first generation, bare-bones version that’s good enough for people to use.
Good-enough when you need it is always better than perfect but too late! – keep this in mind as we go through the rest of our rules of success.
4: Time will pass anyway, might as well use it
Everybody thinks they have time so they think they can afford to waste some. Reality hits you hard when you realize time is picking up speed as you progress in life.
Can you believe how fast the first half of this year has passed. What about how quickly the past 10 years have passed?
Time will pass anyway, so 5 years from now, might as well have your degree, your business or the career you want it.
The choices you’re making right now, determine where you will be 10 years from now.
If you want to be successful later on, make today the choices that will allow you to get there in the future.
5: Nobody’s coming to save you, you have to save yourself!
If you want to be successful, sorry to break it for you, but you can’t escape the hard work requirement.
As much as you’re trying to play the game, to find the shortcuts, at one point you’ll find yourself before track, and you have to run that race yourself.
You’re smart, you probably think you can find a cheat code to winning this with less effort than everyone else, well, you found it. This list right here is all the value we’ve managed to find in our own race and bring it all together. We’re serving you the best of the best on a silver platter, and even here, hard work is still on the menu.
People will help motivate you, some will cheer for you, some will help you overcome obstacles along your journey, but this is your journey and they have theirs.
If you’ve chosen to swim in the deep waters of uncertainty, risk and reward, you better start swimming, cuz there’s no guarantee a lifeguard will show up in time.
Take ownership of your present and the future!
This is one of the first lessons we realized when we began meditating: the fact that we are so much in control of our destiny, that it’s great to have valuable people around you, but unless you’re solid on your feet you’re unlikely to break through to the next level.
We distilled this type of mindset and realization in our Mind Mastery premium experience available for purchase at alux.com/meditation.
It’s a 21 day challenge where you learn the valuable skill of meditation and how to use your mind to come up with creative solutions to the problems you’re facing. We know $250 is a lot for some of you, but a single idea from that course can grow into millions.
Go through the entire experience & if by the end you still think you didn’t get your money’s worth we will issue a full refund under our 60 day guarantee, that’s how much we believe in it! Our free content on youtube, like the rules of success, pales in comparison to our premium experiences.
6: Be grateful for what you have, but you should always want more.
This is something people have said to us: “You’ve done so much, you have enough, you should take a break”, not once, but on numerous occasions.
Here’s the thing about that:
There’s no limit to how much good you can do!
The more you work, the more opportunity to help you have. Why would you take a break when you’re winning and your work is helping you & those around you live a better life.
People grow up with this mindset of limited resources, like the pie is finite. For them, if you take 2 slices of pie, then there isn’t much left for everyone else.
What these people don’t understand is that:
There was no pie initially… I baked it myself. I know how to bake pies. Actually I’ve been making more than 1 pie and are giving these out to other people. So let me eat my slice of pie in peace Karen..
Live life appreciating what you have, be grateful for the good life you’re living right now – although it might not feel like it, it can always get worse – so be grateful. But it’s more than ok to want to get to that next level, to want to experience more than your current reality.
There are levels to the things you can do in life, how many people you can help and the impact you can have.
Your job now is to figure out how far you can go in this game.. You want to be successful, be grateful for what you have but play the game the best way you can.. What’s your high score Aluxers?
7: Success comes as a result of putting order into chaos
If you’re living in chaos, the likelihood of success is left to chance and by now, we both know that:
Luck isn’t a strategy!
Every successful individual has become successful by putting order in chaos. That’s what solving problems is actually. Problems are chaotic. This illness is freaking everyone out and we don’t know what to do… then someone comes along and solves this problem through medical innovation. The chaos is turned into order, because we are now in control of the chaos.
That’s what you have to do in life! Find chaos and order it.
This entire piece is about the rules of success and what you can do today to increase your chances of success.
How chaotic is your life right now? Take a look around you, how clean is your room? What about your house, your car… how clear are your goals? How orderly is your life?
The mind can not focus in a chaotic environment, because it’s distracted by all the noise.
You want to put order in your life? Start small. Clean your room, make your bed, empty your phone, create a to-do list for everything that’s been stressing you out and know you should get done.
The to-do list is the first step towards bringing some order. Then do the things you write on the list. Once you’re done you won’t believe how powerful you’ll feel.. You’ve just taken control over your life.
This notion of order in Chaos will spread throughout your life..
KEEP YOUR WORD!
BE ON TIME!
This drops down the levels of chaos into predictable order. Nobody likes people who are bringing their chaos into our lives, so try not to be one of them!
You want to be successful? Put order in your chaos!
8: Hardships are life’s way of testing “How badly you want it”
Sometimes life throws some big roadblocks in your life.
-to keep up with the previous metaphor – Think of them very much like a boss-fight in video games.
When things get hard, life is testing to see what you’re made off and if you’re ready for growth or not.
The fact that you’ve come this far and now are facing this should tell you that you’re on the right path.
Hardships are just opportunities for you to evolve!
It’s hard because you’re not strong enough, not ready enough, to overcome it, but that’s exactly why you need to face it. In the process of overcoming it, it will force you to grow, to be more than what you currently are.
Hardships are part of everyone’s journey, but here’s how we think about them:
Every-time you encounter a problem, life is testing you if you’re worthy of what’s beyond it!
Most people will not be able to overcome it, so they won’t get the prize. This is what they mean when they say 9 out of 10 businesses will fail. That 1 that survives is the one worthy of the prize.
Never be fazed by obstacles, hardships or uncomfortable problems that you have to solve, for once you do, you will have proven yourself worthy!
You want to be successful, overcome the problem ahead of you!
9: Wake up with Purpose
An important Rule of success has to do with your mornings and the way you organize your day.
Men of purpose usually wake up early!
Why? Because they need more time to do the things they know will push the needle further.
The moment you begin waking up with purpose, with a clear and actionable goal in mind, you’re no longer lingering through life.
YOU NEED TO HAVE A PURPOSE!
Not a wish, not a dream, a purpose! “I woke up today to get this done and will not go to bed until I do it.”
How many of you have no idea what to do these days? How many of you feel that you lack direction in your life? How many of you want someone to hold their hand and walk them towards the things they feel they need..
This is because you’re lacking purpose!
A clear purpose defines clear steps & actions you need to take!
There’s no longer a confusion of what you should be doing next. You don’t complain or procrastinate when you have a purpose. People have survived wars, labor camps, the darkest evils, because of the purpose of seeing their family one more time.. And you think you just can’t stop watching twitch streamers..
You want to be successful? Find your purpose!
10: Monetize your passion
You’ve heard it in so many different ways like: “Find a job you like and you won’t work a day in your life… hahaha”, but despite this being one of the most well known rules of success a quick glance at society reveals a brutal truth. Everyone who’s supper successful has leveraged this rule in their favor. Everyone we look up to has figured out how to monetize their passion… everyone else is crying themselves to sleep.
“But… but… ALUX..” Sit down Stanley… there’s no-one in the world who’s actually passionate about accounting or your second job at the DMV, so shut it.
Here’s where things get interesting.. There are so many people in the world that -statistically speaking- someone has already figured this out before you, even better, you probably already know them because you’ve naturally gravitated towards them.. Your passion has worked on your behalf!
Just study them and figure out how they’ve managed to monetize and slowly begin to follow in their footsteps.
Nobody in their right mind would keep going for this long without a payout, unless you’re having fun and passionate about what you’re doing.
Here’s the cheat-sheet to monetizing anything! figure out these 4 things and you’re golden.
- Figure out if it’s gonna be a product or service
- Figure out how much you are going to charge
- Figure out how you are going to reach people
- Figure out how you are going to take their money
Although these 4 might sound like it’s 1 thing, they require different types of expertise. By the time you solve these 4 puzzles, you’re already winning.
The world is changing fast and people are trading working in corporations for setting up a 1 person business that allows them the freedom they want. The best book we’ve read on this is COMPANY of ONE by Paul Jarvis. It’s an easy read signaling a cultural shift that’s happening right now.
The book is $15 on amazon, but if you go to alux.com/freebook and this is the first time you sign up, you can get Company of One for free as an audiobook thanks to our friends at audible.
If you want to be successful, you need to find a way to enjoy making money, otherwise you’re just slaving away, living for the weekend.
11: Find people who are walking in the same direction as you and walk together
A major rule of success comes from the people you associate with.
We’ve always said that:
You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with!
Are they successful? You’re probably successful yourself.
Are they losers? Guess what.. You’re probably a loser yourself!
When it comes to hunting for goals and success, it’s a lot easier to hunt in packs, to motivate each other, to call yourselves out on your bullshit and be there if the situation requires it.
There’s an old african proverb that goes like this:
If you want to go fast, go alone!
If you want to go far, go together!
No matter how strong you think you are, unless you build a team, surround yourself with people going the same way you are, you’re going to burn out, be taken by the current and eventually drown.
Nobody is really self-made! We all seeked help along the way!
You want to be successful, find people who are just as hungry to eat as you are and hunt with them!
12: Where your focus is that’s where your reality follows
We couldn’t be talking about the Rules of Success without mentioning one of the most important ones:
Your focus determines your destiny!
How do you spend your time? What are you doing every day? Towards what does your attention go?
Be honest with yourself.. Where is it really going?
That’s why your reality is the way it is.
If you want your life to change, you first have to change yourself!
For some reason people want the change without making any changes.. How is that supposed to work?
You’ve probably heard that The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results..
Are you getting the results that you want? If YES, GOOD!!! Keep doing what you’re doing!
But if you’re not, you better re-evaluate yourself, because the future is just around the corner and you, my friend, aren’t ready for it.
If you want to be successful, learn to focus your efforts in the right direction!
13: For your life to be more than what it is, you need to be more than what you are
We wanted to expand on the previous point because it’s crucial to your future.
We’re not gonna sugar coat it for you, there are Tears to life. There are experiences, places, people, events which you will never be able to access with your current condition.
Let me simplify it for you!
Everyone wants to date a supermodel, but nobody wants to work hard enough to be in the position to date one.
Everybody wants their partner to be amazing at everything, but they themselves are mediocre at best.
Everyone wants to create incredible memories, but very few are willing to put in the effort to get there.
The more you develop personally, the more doors open for you!
Guess what.. Behind those doors there are other rooms you didn’t even know existed.
Life has this strange way to give us what we want, but people never ask for more…
This is what is meant when people say: INVEST IN YOURSELF!
Use your time, money & resources to develop, to grow, to experiment, to learn to become more than what you are.
You first put in the work and then the awards will follow!
It’s not the other way around..
14: Success is the result of managing existing resources efficiently
Here’s the truth: Life is a strategy game!
You get a limited amount of resources to start: you have time, little money and just a few tools at your disposal. You’re consuming this on a device, so you might have more than you think you do..
You have to make choices.. Where should your resource go?
Before you rub off the cheeto dust of your fingers and start ranting about people being born rich and how unfair life is, just know that there are people who started with way less than you did and by your age have achieved way more.. So… check yourself!
Everybody has their own pace, everyone gets handed a different starting hand. Maybe you got lucky and you were born in a decent family with decent opportunities at your doorstep… but maybe you didn’t… maybe life was hard to you in the beginning and maybe it still is..
But you can give up or play the game since you’re already in it.
You’re smart; look around you! You paid with money and time to purchase these things you’re surrounded by, so ask yourself:
How can I use these to get myself more money and more time?
We did the work for you. If you click in the top right corner you can go to our video on 15 Businesses You Can Start with Little or No money.
All of them depend on your ability to use very limited resources, but put in the work.
Your problem isn’t that you don’t have the best resources, it’s that you’re too lazy to use the ones you have.
15: Success is the sum of small actions repeated daily
For our last rule of success we had to go back to an ALUX staple.
You’ve not only heard us say it time and time again, but live by it. For years we’ve been working hard getting 1 of these videos every single day. Think it of it, it takes researchers, editors, narrators, graphic designers and more to get a single one of these out and we’ve managed to do it consistently with a quality we can be proud of. This has been the driving force behind our success.
You can’t go to the gym once and expect a 6-pack!
That’s why all those habit books are so popular. It’s the little things you do everyday that add up to those big results.
Now.. what do you really want to achieve in the foreseeable future?
What’s 1 thing that if you did every day for 1000 days that would definitely get you there?
Don’t rush it, because it’s important.
Once you find it, do that and don’t stop. 1000 days challenge to win at life are you in or nah?
If you want to be successful, you have to know the rules of success and you just went through all of them. Which raises the question: Which one clicked with you the most? We’re super interested in knowing which ones sparked an idea in your mind. Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this take on our rules of success, we strongly recommend you check out: 15 Rules That Make You Rich & Life Easy
