What Are the 7 Rules?
Summary
7 RULES YOU WERE BORN TO BREAK
I wrote 7 Rules You Were Born to Break in 2009 when the economy crashed and I found myself out of work as a corporate presenter and facing the stress of how to support my family as we burned through our savings.
I spent 4 months writing down all the stories of notable interactions I had had in my professional career as an entertainer, street performer, and corporate presenter.
After months of writing a pattern emerged from what I realized was an accidental sociology study I had conducted over several decades in my interactions with people.
The story of writing the book can be found in more detail here.
Listed below is a summary of each of the 7 rules I discovered in the process of writing.
RULE SUMMARIES
Be Normal -
Following this rule causes us to dampen our authentic expression, especially our feelings and hide the strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics that make us unique.
Be Independent -
Following this rule cuts us off from the potential for collaboration and teamwork as we attempt to carry our burdens and responsibilities without asking for help.
Avoid Mistakes -
Following this rule prevents us from engaging creative processes of discovery, exploration, and innovation that require the willingness to try new things without knowing if they will work.
Stay Comfortable -
Following this rule blocks us from achievements and results that require resilience, stamina, labor, and discipline to reach them.
Pretend You Don't Matter -
Following this rule stops us from providing value because we believe we can't make a difference and that our actions, words, and feelings have little significance.
Stay in Control -
Following this rule causes us to put an agenda we have for our experience or our environment ahead of the needs or experience of others.
Be Popular -
Following this rule results in our giving priority to popularity and approval over our sense of inner purpose or of any vision we may have for the future.
The Platform
The Break a Rule Challenges arms paid subscribers with tools to assess exactly which rule(s) they will most benefit from breaking, provides simple incremental challenges to help break the rule consistently, and facilitates sharing and dialogue between growth-minded professionals.
Subscribers receive regular updates, training materials, and thought provoking learning and development frameworks they can use for their own benefit or to inspire their teams.
*This offer applies only to those who are resident in the 98230 zip code and have consistently line-dried their laundry for the last 200 days. (Everybody else gets a dubiously funny email.)