There was a great post over at Copyblogger last week about fighting through obstacles to creative thinking, and the quote that really stuck in my head was “Quit worshipping rule breakers start breaking some rules.” Pretty sexy huh? I identified with it immediately because I feel like people that are ‘rule breakers’ are often revered in everyday life, but rarely mimicked.

And I don’t just mean the sexy fella on the Harley that smoked Kool’s and used to pick up your grandma for a late-night spin in the 50’s. People that achieve great things - whether they do so in business, art, music, philanthropy, etc. - can generally be traced back to specific actions or decisions they made that went against the norm or the safe play. You may not always see it as breaking rules, but their actions can definitely be characterized as going against the norm. They are the men and women that you talk about inside your living rooms.

The teachers didn’t understand them. Mom and Dad strongly disapproved of their decision. But they took a leap of faith because they believed in themselves and it didn’t matter what other’s thought or what was expected of them. Some may have ended up victims of the times, and yet others fell flat on their face. But I doubt they’d have it any other way. After all, you don’t learn much by not trying. You don’t live much either.

So if you’re sitting back in that leather desk chair and you’re Firefox is fresh off a visit to the FB, play a little game with me. Think of a few people you admire. Did they break some rules along the way? Did they do something out of the ordinary, make a move in life that wasn’t necessarily ’smart’ to most, but now it’s looking mighty bright? I think typically the answer is ‘yes’. In business, it is almost certainly ‘yes’.

Michael Dell. Bill Gates. Somebody named Bukowsky. I know you Facebookers would be interested to read about Mark Zuckerberg. I don’t think he made it to graduation. Really, just insert the parade of names right here, cause it goes on and on.

I suppose what I’m saying is it’s always high time to break a rule or two. If you are thinking of starting a business but you’re stuck in college, think about taking less classes for a semester to get it off the ground. If it starts to go well, drop out. If you need money, be creative. Break some rules. Call everyone you know and seek counsel, and email big name guys that could help you on your way. You never know until you try.

One good way to always break a rule is to do it with confidence. If you act like you know what you’re doing, however big or small, people will generally think that you do. It’s like another favorite quote of mine: “All you need in life are confidence and ignorance, and then success is guaranteed.” (para) From our boy Sam C. up the Mississippi River.

And in the spirit of good fun, here’s the TGS-endorsed rules to break in your lifetime:
- Quit your job and start a new business.
- Skip class. Better yet, drop out.
- Start a band.
- Sneak into a sporting event.
- Go on a last-minute trip.
- Skip a week of work and go on a road trip.
- Write something that pisses someone off. Preferably a blogger.
- Use a fake ID to get into a club or buy alcohol. Or to vote if you’re a needling little pussy. If you’re too old for that, make a fake ID for a Rec center or something like that and try to use it. This makes me think of that scene in Slackers when they go to the restaurant and have fake ID’s saying it’s their birthday. I bet you thought that was cool. But you’d be too scared to do it I bet. Or what about McLovin? His fake ID did him some good.
- Shoplift.
- You should probably do every drug out there. I don’t know about those chemical ones or the ones that require needles, but hey, “Carpe diem!” right?
- Vandalize some property.
- Set things on fire. This may be combined with many from above.
- This list should be a lot longer but I’m tired . . .

And everytime some says “Like that will ever happen”, make it happen. If there is a will there is a way dear reader, there is a way.