Mar 03, 2021

Make your own trail

Another landmark unreasonably successful people have in common is making their own trail.

Becoming a trailblazer is no easy task. By definition, you must have a unique philosophy that contradicts common sense and you must have the conviction to follow it in the face of that contradiction. Self-belief is quite important here.

Before Amazon, it was considered ludicrous for a company to put the interests of their customers above the shareholders, employees, and profitability of a business. Shareholders impatiently and reluctantly went along with Jeff Bezos’ philosophy although many doubted if it would ever actually lead to profits.

Steve Jobs was thrown out of Apple because he had to do things his way. His need for creative control rubbed many of his co-workers the wrong way. 

Walt Disney felt that the corporate ethos was an anchor to his creativity. In an interview, he said, “The thing I resent most is people who want to keep me in well-worn grooves.” Disneyland was considered a bad idea by everyone around him and in order to finance it he had to set up a separate company named WED (his initials) before eventually striking a deal to roll it back into the Disney company. It saved the company.

If you seek unreasonable success, be bold enough to create your own trail.