How to achieve revolutionary success?

Note: This article is written by author and researcher Vanessa Van Edwards, in which she talks about how we can be revolutionary.

We are all aware of this when we see it: most computer companies are successful, while Apple is revolutionary. This applies to ordinary coffee shops when compared to Starbucks.

The question is: what helps these brands and these people reach such extraordinary levels of success and influence? The author of Rules for Revolutionaries, Guy Kawasaki, looked at what legendary leaders do differently, shared the secrets he learned from the world's best brands, and revealed the steps you can take to become a revolutionary too.

The four most important rules to revolutionize what you do

1. Creativity

The main difference that distinguishes revolutionaries from everyone else is that they are brilliant creators. What they create in life, not just in their lives, is what makes them influential.

Expand your thinking as much as possible

To create a revolutionary idea, you must find a solution distinct from all the currently existing solutions, which is not easy. Here is a simplified version of the process of generating ideas for Kawasaki:

• Forget all your previous concepts about the problem and the solutions, as this will prevent you from coming up with original ideas.
• Create as many solutions as you can and get inspired by nature, other companies, and anything else you can learn from.
• Once you have as many ideas as possible, one or two should emerge as the most achievable.

Accept your flaws

Perfection kills progress. When you come up with an original idea, you must be ready to share it before all the flaws are worked out. Guy Kawasaki says, “Revolutionary products do not fail because they are launched too early; they are not modified fast enough.” The feedback you receive will help you improve your first draft of the idea.

2. Leadership

No matter how great your ideas are, if you do not have the confidence and communication skills required to share them with others, you will not become revolutionary one day. Here are these tips to make your idea stand out from the competition:

Make your ideas understandable

One of the biggest problems that smart people create for themselves is that they forget that people don't always have the same level of knowledge or share the same kinds of interests. I get that all the time. When someone tries to explain a great idea, they find that listeners have lost focus or aren't convinced because they don't understand what they're talking about.

So instead of enthusiastically sharing all your thoughts with people, Kawasaki emphasizes that you should focus on engaging people in your thoughts. Here are some examples:

• If you have a product or service that people can use, let them try it.
• If you promote something people have already used or done, tell them that following you means they will become part of something greater.
• If you want to involve people, tell them how.
• Turn people into loyal followers.

While it's great for people to listen to your idea, buy your product, subscribe to your newsletter, or whatever you're trying to get out of them, Kawasaki argues that what distinguishes successful people from revolutionaries is that successful people sell products and ideas, While revolutionary people and companies create loyal followers.

To get people to follow you or feel personally invested in what you're doing, you need to inspire them to form an emotional connection, and the easiest way to do that is to share your vision with them so they can connect with your ideas on a deeper level.

Ignore the myths of success

The business and blogging worlds are flooded with advice that makes sense but leads to failure. Here are some myths that Kawasaki thinks you should stop believing right now:

• You must say yes to every opportunity: Revolutionary ideas are not for everyone, and if you say yes to every proposal or opportunity, you will lose the ability to deliver the high quality that makes you or your business revolutionary.
• You will succeed if you have a fantastic product or a great idea: Having a valuable idea is only the first step. To become a revolutionary, you must convince people to listen to it, and that's the hardest part.
• You must be addicted to work: Success requires a massive amount of work, but if you do not get rest, you will be extinguished and lose the energy and creative style you need to implement your ideas.

3. Hard work

No, this does not mean becoming a workaholic (as mentioned earlier); when Kawasaki said, “Work as a slave,” he meant that revolutionaries should do whatever it takes to make their vision come true.

There are two main areas in which revolutionaries are investing a massive amount of energy. Most people overlook these two areas.

4. Granting Information

The most innovative people not only generate great ideas because they are intelligent but also because they are constantly learning. As Guy Kawasaki says, “The more information you provide, the more people will trust you and see the mutual benefits.”

Many people make the mistake of keeping their thoughts secret for fear of being stolen, and the problem with this strategy is that the people who can help you are unable to understand what you are doing, and therefore they are not allowed to help you because you are too closed to your ideas.

Sharing ideas and knowledge with intelligent and creative people allows you to build relationships that give you access to a wealth of ideas that accelerate your development.

In conclusion: treat people equally

Despite the status that titles seem to provide, they tell you little about their holders. When you decide who you want to work with to make your theoretical idea a reality, treat everyone equally.

People in lower positions are often the ones with valuable ideas and talents because they communicate your ideas to people in a different way than you do.

The same applies to your team. When you trust team members and their ability to make intelligent decisions and give them the intellectual resources to succeed, you will reap a much better result than you would if you were guiding them in every large and tiny detail.