The “1% Rule” Of Ambitious & Successful People
Posted on January 01, 2022 by Dez Kaizen, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
This article is about the people who have reached even greater success than the average successful person.
Even though they’re far from being the majority, there are still a lot of successful people out there. But in the midst of all those successful people, there are those who are the most successful amongst the successful.
And this article is about them. The people who have reached even greater success than the average successful person.
What has helped them attain such a huge amount of accomplishments? What is so different about them?
Something that has probably contributed is a little bit of luck. Not the kind of luck that would take anything away from their achievements, but luck is always necessary in life. Most successful people simply fail and fail again until they finally find a little bit of “luck”. To understand what I mean on a deeper level, allow me to suggest the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. Even the world’s biggest billionaires have had some odds favor them over others.
But, having said all this, obviously if anyone is just waiting for lady luck to come change their lives, it will never happen. After all, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
So what sets apart the 1% of the 1%? I call this “The 1% Rule”.
To explain the concept, I will tell you a story I once heard that perfectly symbolizes it. However, I don’t remember where I heard it from anymore (might have been Gimlet Media’s first podcast ever). But I’m fairly certain it’s legit. If it isn’t, that’s not important. I just want you to read the story and see if you can figure out for yourself what the 1% Rule is. If you don’t, the answer will be featured at the end of the story.
THE STORY:
There are two people involved in this story. One is the storyteller, and the other is the CEO of Uber (but it could be some other CEO. Don’t consider anything in this story to be factual).
The storyteller is trying to get an investment for a project of his, and one of the people he has an opportunity to pitch his idea to is the CEO of Uber. So, they meet and the CEO invites him back to his place for dinner, because he wants to get more personally acquainted before deciding if he should go in business with the storyteller.
Once at the CEO’s home, they have a lovely meal and a good time. After the meal, the CEO asks the storyteller if he would like to play a Nintendo Wii game called Wii Sports (more specifically, if he wanted to play tennis on the Wii).
The storyteller was definitely not expecting that request, but he was down to play. He happily accepted the challenge.
Fast forward 30–60 minutes and the CEO has wiped the floor with the storyteller. He completely destroyed him in their virtual tennis match. The storyteller was NO MATCH at all for the CEO.
Confused by how badly he got destroyed, he asked the CEO “So, is this your favorite game or something?”
To which the CEO replied “Kind of. I have a few other favorites, but this is definitely my top 5 at the moment”
The storyteller, still slightly confused, then says “Oh, but you’re… really, really, good. You should be competing professionally”
And this is when Uber’s CEO tells him what surprised the storyteller the most:
“Oh, thanks. Yeah, I take this kind of seriously. In fact, on the online leaderboard, I’m ranked #2 in the world”
The storyteller was NOT expecting the CEO of Uber to be ranked so high on an online leaderboard of a video game that MILLIONS of people play every day.
Have you figured out what the 1% Rule is yet? I’m about to tell you
And, after seeing the storyteller’s reaction, that’s when the CEO told him why he was so high up on the leaderboard.
“It’s not that I’m addicted to gaming or anything. It’s just that when I do something… Anything… I have to be the best at it. I’m obsessed with it. So, even though this isn’t that important, since I enjoy it I NEED to be in the top 1% of everyone who plays this. Anything I do in life, I always aim to be the best, or at least to be in the top 1% of the best.”
And THAT my friend is the “1% Rule”.
It’s having such a brutally determined mindset that you simply believe in yourself that much. You have that much confidence in yourself that you can be on the top 1% of ANYTHING that you do.
It’s not just about the belief either, it’s also about EXECUTING. First, you believe, then you execute. Otherwise, you’re not living by this rule.
So, the point of this article is to inspire you to achieve this mindset. The mindset that you are going to be in the top 1% of whatever it is you want to do.
If you want to be GREAT, then start living by the 1% Rule. And eventually, you’ll be in the top 1% of whatever you want.
First you believe, then you succeed.
Never stop hustling & never stop dreaming,
- Dez
