The world and the internet are full of sycophants and megalomaniacs. I get it, oh know not another cliche. No wait I get it. I have never read any one of Seth Godin’s books, but I admit after visiting his blog today, I was a little jealous.

Is that bad? Perhaps, but I don’t think so, it’s just me being human. The latest post was titled “I get it“, and it looked like it should of been a tweet. To be fair it was very intellectual. I will not dispute the fact that Seth has a keen intellect. It’s just the jealousy part came in when I happened to notice how many shares this post got. Apparently a lot of people got it.

One impression that I get from Seth Godin just based on what I do know about him. I have seen him once or twice in a video interview, and I have found myself gravitating to read an occasional post of his once in a blue moon. And I might be talking out of school, but I don’t think I am. Seth is someone who doesn’t only think outside of the box. He is someone who has actually thrown that box away. He understands the simple fact that we cannot be everything to everyone. He is someone who “Get’s it”.

As a matter of fact I cannot remember who said it, but the fastest way to mediocrity is to try to please everyone. The experts abound. They will tell you that oh you have to be super niche, and oh you have to do your content marketing this way, and oh you know don’t forget about your SEO, and oh look how you need to do your social media. You know what bullshit!

I am not saying you shouldn’t understand who your audience is, quite cont rare. What I am saying though is that it’s OK to do something that hasn’t really been done before and build your audience. I am a fitness expert, and I could easily write fitness content all day long, my audience is going to be people who want to get fit and learn about being healthy and about fitness, which is fine, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is not going to set the world on fire. It’s not going to set my soul on fire, so instead I am out of my comfort zone putting it out there and sticking my neck out a little. Any innovator or person that is creating real change does this. They don’t play it safe. As a matter of fact these days playing it safe might be the worst thing you could possibly do.

Think about something for a minute. Everyone that is super successful or that has made a mark for themselves, is not following the masses. The masses are following them.

You see in order to excel just create something that everyone will like. A nice little story, or a catchy tune with a great hook and a funky beat. The thing is everyone will not like it. That is the whole point. As a matter of fact some people will not like you personally either for it simply because you are successful and for no other good reason. More of that human nature stuff.

What you need is some trans-formative behavior. Here are a few tips and actionable steps that come to mind on how

You can begin to develop some behavior modification steps that will have a tremendous positive impact on your life, both personally and professionally. This will start you on your path to transforming yourself. Unless you want to stay exactly where you are. And that would just suck.

1. People will quickly try to estimate what your time and energy are worth and pay you accordingly

Transparency is a little overrated sometimes. As a matter of fact perceptions perceived by one are decidedly the outcome of one’s belief. You must learn to understand your own worth and value. People will pay you no mind otherwise and people will pay you monetarily what you think your worth. There is a time for full disclosure and honestly, but remember if you know you have something great to offer, keeping people from jumping to the wrong conclusions or forming the wrong impression of you is important and may actually be doing them a greater service in the end. Trust me just when you think you have all the answers, the questions always change.

2. Ask for more, A lot more!

Sometimes we are afraid to offend others and sometimes we fall short. In business the best thing to do is to under promise and over deliver, in building relationships, call them like you see them, but in a tasteful and tactful way. People will usually never forget how you make them feel, so it’s important to ask nicely, but ask just the same. Don’t waste time with people that play tit for tat, or are indecisive. Spend your time looking for people who know what they want and how to make decisions.

3. Stop Seeking Approval From Others For What You Want To Do.

For a myriad of reasons I can tell you why you need to stop doing this. Be a person of action, not a person of words. People will always give you reasons why you can’t make it, like 9 out of 10 times as opposed to why you can make it, but you have to believe. If you don’t believe first, no one will believe second or third, and so on. A crazy borderline delusional belief that you will succeed is par for the course, so if you don’t have it, the game is not for you.

4. You must visualize the life you want to live and keep working your every action towards that vision.

Here is a question that was asked by a leading online internet marketer to his audience which I thought was profound. The question was, what would your perfect average day be like if there were no financial limitations or consequences? And then he went on to be very specific. What kind of house would you live in, when would you get up, what would your view be like, when would you eat breakfast. You get the idea. You have to be specific.

5. Develop a Thick Skin and Emotional Intelligence.

By some account’s having a great emotional intelligence is a greater indicator of someone’s ability to achieve success, even then a high IQ. Why is this? Well simple, we all know life isn’t fair. When things don’t go our way we immediately want to lash out. Displaying our true feeling all the time is not wise. It makes us predictable and allows others to manipulate us. You must keep your cards close to your chest, and honestly if you don’t have something positive to say, don’t say anything. I learned what other people think about me is none of my business.

Also Read: 3 Ways To Improve Your Work-Life Balance

I hope these tips help. To hell with mediocrity. I believe we are all capable of doing remarkable things. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think about it.