The 17 Habits of People Who Change the World (aka The Live Your Legend Operating Manifesto)
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain
Now let’s get into today’s action:
In case you haven’t noticed yet, I believe in taking the road less traveled. I believe it will always make all the difference. It certainly has so far…
Legends spend their time putting their unique dent in the world. But how did they get there? What do they do differently than the rest of the world?
Their stories can blow my mind but the habits and beliefs that got them there are where the real magic is.
In a word they simply do things differently.
Over nearly the past decade, I’ve made a deep study of the tenets that guide their actions. Those same beliefs now guide all of mine. Over the coming months we will examine, test and experience them in deep detail. For now let’s start with the road map. If we are going to change the world by doing work we love, then the below are requirements.
I call them a way of life.
These are our guiding principles – an Operating Manifesto of sorts.
They make up the foundation of Live Your Legend. They’re the beliefs that guide every Living Legend I’ve met.
Make them your own and watch what happens.
Note: This is meant to be a reference piece going forward. With almost every habit below I’ve included links to an article or two I’ve written on the subject. I hope you’ll spend some serious time with this. I want you to fully understand our foundation for why we do what we do here. Enjoy.
1. Try new things. Constantly experiment with new people, jobs, projects and experiences. See what sticks. Without experiments we’ll never learn anything. Without learning, we’ll get nowhere. Consider your life a series of experiments- big and small. Always be testing. Live outside your comfort zone and don’t underestimate the importance of being a beginner.
2. Measure against your own standards, not others. All of us have different definitions of success and goals that likely have nothing to do with those around us. So stop comparing to others. It’s almost surely apples to oranges and you’ll either feel overly confident or overly disappointed. Either way it’s less than useful. You are your own comparison. Define your success and own it.
3. Know who you are. The better you know yourself the more likely you are to do work that matters. Simple as that. Study your strengths, know your weaknesses, identify your values, define your success, learn the things that excite and those that terrify you. Take all the tests and evaluations you can find. Begin to live a life congruent with your values, strengths and purpose and you’ll never look back. But do things for the wrong reasons and there’ll be nothing but disappointment. Kind of like how business school killed the entrepreneur. No sleepwalking allowed!
4. Learn from those around you. Every interaction is a chance to either learn what fires you up or what makes you want to put a wet finger in a light socket. Knowing one is just as crucial as knowing the other. Embrace your surroundings. Observe closely.
5. Realize you’re already free. Freedom doesn’t come from huge financial achievement or the ability to live in some little hut over a Tahitian lagoon. Go out and survey the average guy rolling in cash and I bet you’ll find them to feel a lot less free than you think. Freedom in it’s purest form is the ability to choose the way we interpret what happens to us. We can either see life’s occurrences, good or bad, as reasons to pursue what matters or excuses to sit on our ass. The choice is yours. All the freedom you’ll ever need is already here. Start acting like it.
6. Assume there’s another way. Don’t take things for granted just because everyone else does. That’s usually the best reason to stop listening (see Mark Twain quote at top). None of you are here for average. If you do what everyone else does, that’s all you’ll get. Constantly ask how else could things be done. Ask why.
7. Believe in what you do. If you don’t have a deep emotional reason for doing the work you do, you’ll likely never do what matters. Know your beliefs. Why do you care so much about the things you do? Nothing big happens without the right reasons. Does what you’re doing actually matter? If you can’t put your heart into it, then get yourself out of it.
8. Constantly seek adventure and explore. Nothing adds more clarity to most of life’s confusions than seeing new things. Get out and explore foreign worlds. Spending too much time in one environment makes us feel like that’s the only way. I assure you it’s not. Notice how different cultures do things differently.
Some of my most defining moments have come from the top of a camel in the Sahara Desert, attempting to run a business in Spain, ordering lunch in a mountain town in Oman, navigating a rental car up the coast of Croatia with my wife or discovering Patagonia with a fly rod. Whether it’s seeing a town across the world or across your state, adventure has to be a priority. Your mind will never be the same.
9. Be authentic. The world is run off personal connections. No one wants to connect with someone who’s fake. Know who you are and aren’t and be open with those around you. People’s B.S. meters are much too high for anything else. Make genuine connections. Be vulnerable and begin creating rapport with anyone.
10. Be a constant learner. Commit to going to bed each day at least slightly wiser than when you woke up. The results will add up. Learn like crazy. Read books, take courses, work with experts, do it all. Do nothing but this and I guarantee you’ll do work that lights you on fire.
11. Pick your surroundings wisely. This is the holy grail. The people around you create who you are. If they inspire you, you’ll be inspired. If they depress you, you’ll be depressed. Those around you absolutely must dream as big or bigger and have as much passion or more than you do.
There’s no time for those who don’t support doing the things that matter to you and the world.
Get rid of the doubters and don’t let the empowering ones leave your sight.
Rule #1: Surround yourself with passionate people. Nothing is more powerful.
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." – Jim Rohn
12. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Stop worrying about getting there. You never will anyway. All the fun is along the trail next to you. It’s impossible to enjoy it if you’re dazed by the blurry horizon that never actually gets any closer. Embrace persistence. Learn to love the process and everything becomes epic.
13. Welcome change. How else are you going to get to where you want to be? Change is going to happen no matter what, so you might as well get used to it. Adopt these beliefs and you can be sure the change to come is for the better.
14. Model excellence. For just about every goal someone has, there is likely at least a handfull of people who’ve already done it. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to. Find the people who live the life you want to live. The one’s who’ve experienced the dreams you’ve always had.
Warren Buffett is my model for my investment business, Leo Babauta is my blogging guru, Tim Ferriss keeps lifestyle design close in mind and my family reminds me of what I want to build with my wife.
Find models for everything. Take note of the good and the bad. Adopt the former and drop the latter. With the right model’s you can do anything.
15. Test what’s possible. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Most things are not as impossible as we think. The only way to find out is to try. This is as important physically as it is with business. When we start to do things we didn’t used to think were possible, the new found confidence transfers to all kind of other parts of life. If you just pushed yourself over the finish line of your first marathon (or 5k for that matter) then why couldn’t you also find a way to double your business’s sales next year?
My most powerful experience with this was when I gave a shot at my first barefoot ultra-marathon last year. If something seems impossible to you, find those who have done it, learn from them and try it. You’ll start to impress yourself. Then watch out. Go on and do something impossible.
16. Take notes. Life is not meant to be passive. Keep a file, notebook, journal or blog of all you learn and experience along the way. The things that fire you up, the things that scare you, the lessons, the people, the huge dreams you have, all of it. The more we can get things out of our head the more likely we can make them reality. Have a weekly or daily routine. Record all you can.
17. Act on what you learn. None of the above matters if you don’t get out and actually do something with it. It’s not just about finishing a book, reading a blog post or having a chat with a wild new person. The magic doesn’t happen in the learning. It happens in the action you take as a result.
Learning is an important step, but it’s still just the first one. Everything we do at Live Your Legend comes back to this. When in doubt, do something. Anything. You have to start.
Habits define outcomes. These are the habits that separate the legends from the rest of the world. Practice these daily. Make them routine. They are the foundation of what’s to come. Get them right and the outcomes will start to blow your mind. There is no more later. It’s time to get rolling.
by Scott Dinsmore August 3, 2011
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain
Now let’s get into today’s action:
In case you haven’t noticed yet, I believe in taking the road less traveled. I believe it will always make all the difference. It certainly has so far…
Legends spend their time putting their unique dent in the world. But how did they get there? What do they do differently than the rest of the world?
Their stories can blow my mind but the habits and beliefs that got them there are where the real magic is.
In a word they simply do things differently.
Over nearly the past decade, I’ve made a deep study of the tenets that guide their actions. Those same beliefs now guide all of mine. Over the coming months we will examine, test and experience them in deep detail. For now let’s start with the road map. If we are going to change the world by doing work we love, then the below are requirements.
I call them a way of life.
These are our guiding principles – an Operating Manifesto of sorts.
They make up the foundation of Live Your Legend. They’re the beliefs that guide every Living Legend I’ve met.
Make them your own and watch what happens.
Note: This is meant to be a reference piece going forward. With almost every habit below I’ve included links to an article or two I’ve written on the subject. I hope you’ll spend some serious time with this. I want you to fully understand our foundation for why we do what we do here. Enjoy.
The 17 Habits of People Who Change the World (aka The Live Your Legend Operating Manifesto)
1. Try new things. Constantly experiment with new people, jobs, projects and experiences. See what sticks. Without experiments we’ll never learn anything. Without learning, we’ll get nowhere. Consider your life a series of experiments- big and small. Always be testing. Live outside your comfort zone and don’t underestimate the importance of being a beginner.
2. Measure against your own standards, not others. All of us have different definitions of success and goals that likely have nothing to do with those around us. So stop comparing to others. It’s almost surely apples to oranges and you’ll either feel overly confident or overly disappointed. Either way it’s less than useful. You are your own comparison. Define your success and own it.
3. Know who you are. The better you know yourself the more likely you are to do work that matters. Simple as that. Study your strengths, know your weaknesses, identify your values, define your success, learn the things that excite and those that terrify you. Take all the tests and evaluations you can find. Begin to live a life congruent with your values, strengths and purpose and you’ll never look back. But do things for the wrong reasons and there’ll be nothing but disappointment. Kind of like how business school killed the entrepreneur. No sleepwalking allowed!
4. Learn from those around you. Every interaction is a chance to either learn what fires you up or what makes you want to put a wet finger in a light socket. Knowing one is just as crucial as knowing the other. Embrace your surroundings. Observe closely.
5. Realize you’re already free. Freedom doesn’t come from huge financial achievement or the ability to live in some little hut over a Tahitian lagoon. Go out and survey the average guy rolling in cash and I bet you’ll find them to feel a lot less free than you think. Freedom in it’s purest form is the ability to choose the way we interpret what happens to us. We can either see life’s occurrences, good or bad, as reasons to pursue what matters or excuses to sit on our ass. The choice is yours. All the freedom you’ll ever need is already here. Start acting like it.
6. Assume there’s another way. Don’t take things for granted just because everyone else does. That’s usually the best reason to stop listening (see Mark Twain quote at top). None of you are here for average. If you do what everyone else does, that’s all you’ll get. Constantly ask how else could things be done. Ask why.
7. Believe in what you do. If you don’t have a deep emotional reason for doing the work you do, you’ll likely never do what matters. Know your beliefs. Why do you care so much about the things you do? Nothing big happens without the right reasons. Does what you’re doing actually matter? If you can’t put your heart into it, then get yourself out of it.
8. Constantly seek adventure and explore. Nothing adds more clarity to most of life’s confusions than seeing new things. Get out and explore foreign worlds. Spending too much time in one environment makes us feel like that’s the only way. I assure you it’s not. Notice how different cultures do things differently.
Some of my most defining moments have come from the top of a camel in the Sahara Desert, attempting to run a business in Spain, ordering lunch in a mountain town in Oman, navigating a rental car up the coast of Croatia with my wife or discovering Patagonia with a fly rod. Whether it’s seeing a town across the world or across your state, adventure has to be a priority. Your mind will never be the same.
9. Be authentic. The world is run off personal connections. No one wants to connect with someone who’s fake. Know who you are and aren’t and be open with those around you. People’s B.S. meters are much too high for anything else. Make genuine connections. Be vulnerable and begin creating rapport with anyone.
10. Be a constant learner. Commit to going to bed each day at least slightly wiser than when you woke up. The results will add up. Learn like crazy. Read books, take courses, work with experts, do it all. Do nothing but this and I guarantee you’ll do work that lights you on fire.
11. Pick your surroundings wisely. This is the holy grail. The people around you create who you are. If they inspire you, you’ll be inspired. If they depress you, you’ll be depressed. Those around you absolutely must dream as big or bigger and have as much passion or more than you do.
There’s no time for those who don’t support doing the things that matter to you and the world.
Get rid of the doubters and don’t let the empowering ones leave your sight.
Rule #1: Surround yourself with passionate people. Nothing is more powerful.
12. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Stop worrying about getting there. You never will anyway. All the fun is along the trail next to you. It’s impossible to enjoy it if you’re dazed by the blurry horizon that never actually gets any closer. Embrace persistence. Learn to love the process and everything becomes epic.
13. Welcome change. How else are you going to get to where you want to be? Change is going to happen no matter what, so you might as well get used to it. Adopt these beliefs and you can be sure the change to come is for the better.
14. Model excellence. For just about every goal someone has, there is likely at least a handfull of people who’ve already done it. Don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to. Find the people who live the life you want to live. The one’s who’ve experienced the dreams you’ve always had.
Warren Buffett is my model for my investment business, Leo Babauta is my blogging guru, Tim Ferriss keeps lifestyle design close in mind and my family reminds me of what I want to build with my wife.
Find models for everything. Take note of the good and the bad. Adopt the former and drop the latter. With the right model’s you can do anything.
15. Test what’s possible. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Most things are not as impossible as we think. The only way to find out is to try. This is as important physically as it is with business. When we start to do things we didn’t used to think were possible, the new found confidence transfers to all kind of other parts of life. If you just pushed yourself over the finish line of your first marathon (or 5k for that matter) then why couldn’t you also find a way to double your business’s sales next year?
My most powerful experience with this was when I gave a shot at my first barefoot ultra-marathon last year. If something seems impossible to you, find those who have done it, learn from them and try it. You’ll start to impress yourself. Then watch out. Go on and do something impossible.
16. Take notes. Life is not meant to be passive. Keep a file, notebook, journal or blog of all you learn and experience along the way. The things that fire you up, the things that scare you, the lessons, the people, the huge dreams you have, all of it. The more we can get things out of our head the more likely we can make them reality. Have a weekly or daily routine. Record all you can.
17. Act on what you learn. None of the above matters if you don’t get out and actually do something with it. It’s not just about finishing a book, reading a blog post or having a chat with a wild new person. The magic doesn’t happen in the learning. It happens in the action you take as a result.
Learning is an important step, but it’s still just the first one. Everything we do at Live Your Legend comes back to this. When in doubt, do something. Anything. You have to start.
Habits define outcomes. These are the habits that separate the legends from the rest of the world. Practice these daily. Make them routine. They are the foundation of what’s to come. Get them right and the outcomes will start to blow your mind. There is no more later. It’s time to get rolling.
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