5 Tips to Help Your Business Thrive Authentically

How radical individuality, non-conformity, creative deviation and personal rebellion can create long-term success and fulfillment in both life and business. {Written by Jason Wrobel}

“Rebellion without truth is like Spring in a bleak, arid desert.” — Khalil Gibran

These days, it seems like there’s a neverending glut of online courses, how-to books, “expert” formulas and weekend workshops teaching us how to be rich, how to be happy, how to be a successful entrepreneur, how to be anything… but ourselves.

As it turns out, the people who dare greatly often choose to deviate from the norm, buck convention and let their freak flag fly; they are the ones who create new forms of art, new technologies and new innovations that impact life on Earth (and beyond) in myriad, diverse ways.

This ain’t easy to do, my friend. Not when going with the flow of society’s expectations makes it feel so safe and cozy to conform to whatever current standards exist and do the same bullshit everyone else is doing. Just a friendly reminder: the same bullshit doesn’t create substantive, lasting change.

And boy, it sure is tempting to follow someone else’s template, plan, roadmap or system. But just because it worked for THEM doesn’t mean it’s going to work for YOU. There’s a disturbing cut-and-paste mentality in our “hack everything” culture right now that creates the illusion that all you have to do is follow the same steps to success that someone else has laid out for you. But if they’ve laid out a path for you… it ain’t your path. It’s their path that they’re trying to convince you to walk down, promising the same pot of gold, happy life or massive career success that they found at the end of their rainbow.

“Conformity is painful. You know, it’s too tight. Conformity leads to rebellion. So a desire for happiness is in direct conflict with a desire for freedom.” — Thomas Jane

Not only is this deep-seated desire for conformity a killer of creativity, growth and innovation, it also robs you from tapping into your greater gifts while holding you back from lasting success and deep contentment in your life. There is a “deviant’s advantage” in making the choice to break away from cultural norms and the already-established roadmaps to find YOUR truth, YOUR path and YOUR life’s adventure.

On that note, here are 5 tips to help you carve out your own path and thrive in your business (now, ahem, results may vary, these are just my general tips and they may or may not work for you because, well, you’re a different person than me):

1. If there’s already a path laid out — it’s not yours

Joseph Campbell once said, “You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential.” There’s a pitfall waiting for us when we have the expectation that someone else’s life plan will work for ours. It takes a hell of a lot of courage, fortitude and faith to figure out what’s best for your life and bravely choose the road less traveled. Don’t rob us of your gifts by trying to be someone else. Choose your life intentionally and live it like no other.

2. Stop trying to outthink your problems and relax

Sometimes, it feels like you’re wracking your brain trying to figure out a problem only at the level of intellect and problem-solving. These moments of mental and energetic fatigue are great opportunities to actually walk away from the problem. Literally. Going for a 20-minute walk, getting some sunshine, taking a hike in nature; these are all ways to move your focus away from trying to solve the problem to allow the answer to come to you. In our ridiculous “rise and grind” culture that exalts hard work and sweat equity as the Gods of productivity, sometimes the best thing you can do to be productive and solve problems is, well, nothing at all.

3. Look at where the niches need some more love

You don’t have to create a whole new market or category of products. Just look at where an existing market is being underserved with a lack of services, products or programs. Find a niche that’s being ignored and give them some big love. Look for the gaps, look for the ways to improve on something, look for the ways to do things differently and fill those niches with innovation, creativity and a spirit of generosity and service. For example: the company Good Catch Foods didn’t invent the idea of plant-based seafood products, but they did fill a niche for shelf stable, high-protein products that nobody else was providing. They saw a gap, filled a niche and created products that were easier to consume and higher quality.

4. Use frustration and obstacles to your advantage

“If it was easy, everyone would do it.” — My Mom, Susan. Yeah, Mama Wrobel is pretty prescient. Legit though, frustration and obstacles have derailed more dreams than we’ll ever know. I think instead of allowing challenges, obstacles and roadblocks to make us want to give up — it’s a great time to use them as fuel. Pissed off? Perfect. Disappointed? Delicious. Frustrated? Fuck yeah! Use these moments of fist-clenching fury to channel your energy as you reevaluate your game plan, your motivations and your direction. Also, a quick reminder: if you didn’t care about what you were doing, you wouldn’t have an emotional reaction. The fact that you care so much can be used as a superpower to keep moving forward.

5. Fuck the status quo

You want to know what’s boring AF? Being status quo. Being normal. Being underwhelming and playing it safe. Fuck that. Be a weirdo. Be a freak. Be unlike anyone else and totally own your amazingness. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. You have to be yourself because everyone else is already taken. You dig? Find your passions, your gifts, your unique perspective on the world and shamelessly scream it from the rooftops. Shine, persevere and give this world all you’ve got.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” — Albert Camus

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This writing was originally posted on Wellevatr.com.