10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed on Your Own Terms

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Introduction

If you’re not succeeding in life, chances are you’re following the incorrect rules. Vishen Lakhiani claims to have created the world’s most comprehensive cheat sheet. In his book, “The Code of the Extraordinary Mind,” he shares tips for living an extraordinary life. He spent over 200 hours interviewing successful people to create a 10-step framework.

The book makes you rethink your ideas, actions, and life systems. It shows you how to subvert traditional mindsets to succeed. It also helps you rewire your brain to become the best representation of yourself.

Vishen Lakhiani’s Perspective

Vishen Lakhiani is one of today’s most significant figures in personal development. He is a Malaysian-Indian motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur. He founded Mindvalley, a firm specializing in educational experience design.

Lakhiani was a self-described nerd and suffered from low self-esteem throughout his life. Before one concept resonated, he was fired many times and lost two enterprises. He also tried over a dozen start-up ideas.

Lakhiani’s views on reality may seem a little strange at times. Yet, his achievements speak for themselves. His technological knowledge helps him spot patterns and connect the dots. A comparable paradigm is established for self-refining to reach astronomical growth.

Lakhiani has broken down “The Code” into four tiers:

You are part of the “culturescape,” which is the world around you.
The awakening lets you create the world you want
Recoding involves remodeling the world inside you.
Becoming extraordinary means you have the power to change the world

He asserts that to maximize your potential, understand your current surroundings. Find out how it has molded you. You can then move to the next level when you’ve “hacked” this.

StoryShot #1: Break Free From The Constraints Of Society

Begin to question everything. Recognize which facts are absolute since most are relative and elastic.

Why do you do what you do? Are you like a dog who blindly obeys his master without questioning his motives? Is it because society urges you to make “sit” and “come” and bring sticks and spit?

Here’s the deal-breaker:

Having a job is unnecessary. So is working from 9 to 5. Working on weekends is terrible!

Eating your breakfast is useless—the same way as going to college. You don’t have to treat the affluent, the elderly, or the needy better than you do the rest.

You wouldn’t have to obey society’s norms. Furthermore, you are not obligated to follow our conditioning’s “shoulds.” You are free to make your own decision. You have the freedom to pick your path, choose your norms, and conduct your life.

In other words, you may surpass the “culturescape.” It’s a term used by Vishen Lakhiani to define all laws, best practices, and the “shoulds” of a society.

Lakhiani argues that extraordinary brains can observe the “culturescape.” They can decide which norms and circumstances to obey and which to question or disregard. As a result, they prefer to pursue the road less traveled and develop new ideas about what it means to live fully.

He advised examining all your life’s standards and routines. You might have taken for granted some important ones throughout your life.

Perhaps you don’t have to be wealthy to be happy? Maybe being spiritual without being pious is possible? Perhaps being sad from time to time is expected? Maybe studying shouldn’t continue beyond high school or college? Perhaps you can shape your own future rather than being a subject of your DNA or heritage?

Lakhiani suggests breaking the “brules.” A brule is a “Bullshit-rule” in its most basic form. The four primary examples are as follows:

The hard labor brule: “Work from 9 to 5, and you’ll succeed”.
The religion brule: “Be pious.”
The culture brule: “Marry within your ethnicity.”
The college brule: “Get good grades, and you’ll succeed.”

Lakhiani has succeeded despite breaking all these norms.

StoryShot #2: Keep Two Visions In Your Brain Simultaneously To Manipulate Reality

When Lakhiani started Mindvalley, he was always worried about revenue objectives. He always asked, “How much did we raise this month?”, “Should we go after this market?” For a while, Lakhiani lost how to be joyful and enjoy himself.

When pursuing your passion, it’s necessary to strive for continuous growth. But this doesn’t mean you can’t be content at this moment. Lakhiani suggests keeping two alternate realities in your thoughts simultaneously:

You’re working towards an exciting future.
Right now, you have countless reasons to be joyful.

The rule keeps you from being unsatisfied or losing sight of your long-term goals. Lakhiani gained from prioritizing his delight and making fun a bigger part of his life. He did reduce not only stress but also boosted his business performance.

StoryShot #3: Rethink Your Understanding Of The World Around You

A gift we may offer ourselves is the ability to choose what to believe or not. To do so, you must first be aware of your present beliefs if you want to rewrite them. We all have beliefs that no longer serve us and hold us back.

As youngsters, they may have been the product of those we admired or despised. They could be a parent, bully, or teacher. Beliefs only become real when we embrace them as factual. We construct mental models of the universe based on the meaning we assign to the events that occur in our life.

When we gaze out into the actual world, we see it through the lens of our limiting beliefs. It could only be one we’ve ever encountered, and therefore the only one permanently set up.

Lakhiani recommends reflecting on these two queries every night to rewire your thoughts:

Thank you for what?
When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Reflection may help you better understand yourself and enhance your thinking.

StoryShot #4: Make Conscious Engineering A Habit

How can you get started in conscious engineering? Simple: Remember that the “reality” of the world forms your perceptions of reality. It will make you realize they are not absolute. Every part of a culture is open to inquiry and change. Focusing on the 12 areas of life that need improvement can help you get there faster:

How satisfied are you with your present love situation?
How robust is your emotional support system?
How much time do you have left for new adventures?
How would you rate the quality of your work and personal spaces?
How would you rate your overall health and fitness right now?
How quickly and in what depth are you progressing in your intellectual development?
Are you developing the skills necessary to succeed?
How often do you meditate or engage in spiritual activities in your spiritual life?
Are you making progress in your job or business?
Is there anything in your life that helps you be more creative?
How pleased are you with your family, including your parents and siblings?
How do you contribute to your community?

Conscious engineering allows you to keep updating your life’s software and hardware.

StoryShot #5: Upgrade Your Brain

If you’re a techie, you may keep your software up to date to use the latest features. Can you say the same for your mind? To live an extraordinary life, you must upgrade your mind’s hardware and software. It’s called conscious engineering. A person’s belief system, or “hardware,” determines how well they use their software. Meanwhile, their behaviors dictate how effectively they use their software.

Consider your live systems as apps that are supposed to solve problems or achieve goals. When an app stops working, there are two options: update it or find a new one. Is there a way to update an app already installed in your body? Finding things out on your own is the answer. You may do this by reading, watching, or asking for recommendations. To be excellent, people understand they must regularly enhance all their systems. They start from fitness to spirituality, then to economics. They then test how successful the new system is in practice. It’s time to begin re-coding your brain as soon as you complete the updates.

StoryShot #6: Live A “Blissipline” Life

Amid so much pain and sorrow, how can you remain positive and joyful? Who can help you in your time of need if you’re not happy?

Lakhiani suggests in the book that “Blissipline” is the answer. “Blissipline” is a daily practice of happiness. It argues that the source of joy is within you. Get started today and use this as the foundation for your other goals and dreams.

According to Lakhiani, “Blissipline” consists of the following three aspects:

Gratitude. Looking back on the beautiful things in our lives gives us a sense of immediate contentment in the here and now. The author recommends that we take a few minutes to reflect on 3–5 things we are grateful for each day. That should include our personal and professional relationships.
Acceptance. We feel more compassionate when we let go of resentment and contempt. We can learn from everything that has happened to us and everyone who has come into our lives. Instead of resentment, ask yourself, “What did I learn from this?” How were my life, personality, and I affected by this situation?
Giving. If you want to be joyful, make other people happy. Giving, according to Lakhiani, is the route to accomplishing this. Do something nice for someone else. If you can physically aid someone, you may do so. Consider where you might assist others, then act on your instincts.

StoryShot #7: Setting Your End Goals Versus Means Goals

If you want to avoid a mind-numbing job, you should not make a career choice. For instance, if you merely say you want to be an entrepreneur, you risk becoming a stressed-out, boring one. Let your job or creative endeavors come to you instead of trying to force them.

The ultimate goal is to fall in love, travel the world, help others, and learn new talents. These are the end goals.

Aspirational objectives speak to your heart. You derive your happiness from any external label or standard. Moreover, it is not about the value society assigns them. These events form our most treasured memories.

Lakhiani defines “the means to an end” as follows.

Means Goals

It’s common for means goals to focus on reaching or complying with “Brule” standards. The word “so” is commonly used in the context of a goal’s means.

To get into a good college, you need decent grades.
If you want a decent job, go to college.
Make a lot of money by getting a decent job.
Get rich, so you can buy a great car, a lovely house, and anything you desire.

You may believe that a college degree is necessary for a fulfilling career. Or, you should marry to experience true happiness in your life. But what you really want is to be surrounded by exceptional individuals with whom you can grow as a person. They come in various shapes and sizes:

What matters most, in the end, is to go with what makes you happy.
Time flies when you’re pursuing your passions.
It doesn’t feel like “work” while you’re doing it.
To get “recharged,” there is no need for a break. Working on it gives you a boost of energy.
Feelings are typically a goal’s endpoint. The pursuit of happiness is the key to contentment. You find love along the way.

End Goals

Here are some examples for end goals:

Being able to see the world’s most beautiful and fascinating places
Exploring the world with your kids is a dream come true.
Sharing beliefs and improving the world is a dream come true.
To learn from business and personal development legends.
Personal development models that you may share with others around the world.
To enjoy oneself to the fullest.

StoryShot #8: Set Goals That You Can Control To Become “Unfuckwithable”

To be “unfuckwitable” means no one can stop you from achieving your goals. Lakhiani says, not even a word or action can bring you down. Moreover, it will be hard to compromise you, convince you to give up your aspirations for money.

When you are “unfuckwithable,” you are the one person on whom you can and should rely. It means being the only controller of your dreams.

Being unfuckwithable, according to Lakhiani, has two components:

Realizing that you are the only one who can make something happen. It is taking full responsibility for all aspects of your life, even those you can’t control.
Setting self-motivated objectives or goals that only you can meet. It means reducing reliance on feedback, labor, or outside help. A good example would be reading two chapters every day vs. gaining 1,000 Facebook followers.

Taking responsibility for your actions is much easier than you think. Stop blaming others for your failures. Instead, focus on improving your circumstances.

StoryShot #9: Accept And Embrace Your Quest

A quest or calling, a desire to make a big difference in the world, drives extraordinary minds. This urge propels people forward in life. It helps them discover meaning and purpose.

According to Lakhiani, the world’s most extraordinary people do not have jobs. They have a calling in their lives. They have passion.

You’d likely do it for free. It may be a book you’re writing or committing your life to raise exceptional children.

To make room for the next big thing, you sometimes have to demolish a part of your life. It’s as though nature is constantly searching for those who are awake. Inspiration will always make every effort to work with you. If you’re not ready or available, it may opt to go on to another human collaborator.

StoryShot #10: Three Questions To Ask To Create A Vibrant Future Vision

Having a vision for the future implies setting goals. Most of us, as previously said, focus on achieving means goals, not end goals.

Lakhiani developed “The Three Most Important Questions” to escape the means goal trap. This practice might help you identify and prioritize your life’s most important goals. These questions are:

1. What do you wish to do in this life?

2. What are your goals?

3. How do you wish to help?

Final Summary And Review Of The Code Of The Extraordinary Mind

Lakhiani presents a novel approach to studying the human mind, body, and spirit. You can see their potential by comparing them to a machine operating system.

When installing new software, you simply click the “Update” button. Do you still hang onto old ideas that don’t serve your best interests in real life? What new life methods might you begin to implement when it comes to expanding your horizons?

It’s a condition Lakhiani refers to as “bending reality.” In this state, there are feelings of development and fulfillment. There is also a sensation of being supported by the cosmos.

Lakhiani laid down two factors to achieve this condition of affairs:

Happiness in the here and now and
Having a clear picture of what the future will look like

As a daily practice, Lakhiani has developed the “6-Phase Meditation”. It’s a mental trick that enables you to achieve excellence.

During each step of the Six-Phase, you can develop a particular ability. The first three factors help happiness in the here and now. The remaining three help shape your long-term goals.

Criticism

Although these principles and behaviors are generally beneficial, they aren’t revolutionary. It’s excellent that Lakhiani has developed his own terminology for things. Yet, he’s rehashing old concepts a lot. This book is an excellent introduction for those new to self-improvement. It distills the most fundamental principles and ideas for you to grasp in a single volume. If not, this might feel a little squishy to you. You don’t have to follow them all if you simply follow those you value. That itself is another one of the rules in the book.