Winning and becoming a champion step 7 is playing by the rules…

…of the game.

One of the most important factors for succeeding in anything is to first ”KNOW” the rules and to second ”PLAY BY” the rules. 

Rules of the game have a purpose. They are put into place so that the activity can be successful.  A sports game is defined by the rules, otherwise nobody would have any common frame by which to play. It gives it structure, a language of sorts which is the common ground for competition. 

I will admit I am not a big guy on rules. They have always made me feel confined, almost as if they take away my freedom.  I have resented the rules of life because I never felt like the true test of a man’s character is his ability to ”fit in” to societies restrictions. 

It isn’t that I want anarchy, nor obviously want to make it ok for just any behavior, for then society would just be torn apart. So, although there are rules I disagree with, there are obviously rules that make sense to me and I follow because it is simply destructive not to. 

I’m one of those guys who doesn’t think it should be required to have locks on anything. Stealing doesn’t mean taking something that is locked away, stealing is taking something that isn’t yours, and something belongs to a person regardless of whether it is locked or not. But, our society has made it necessary to lock things. So, you have to lock things, because if you don’t and something gets stolen, your insurance won’t pay for it, nor will the police look for the thief. 

But, there are some rules that we don’t get told early in life that would prevent a lot of failures. To be successful in life, there are some rules that truly must be followed.

1. You MUST consciously love yourself…. The Golden Rule states, Love thy neighbor AS THYSELF.  The part that gets ignored in this rule is the love yourself part. It isn’t a given that you love yourself, but it is probably the most important rules to follow. Because if you don’t love yourself, you will not trust someone else who would love you because you don’t feel you are loveable. It may seem to be a small point. But self love is probably one of the most neglected rules of life and it causes many destructive behaviors. 
2. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Which is really what the rule Love thy neighbor as thyself is all about. This really means have a service mentality. Seek to help others and your life will be full. 
3. Live in the black. This means, spend less than you earn. This is a rule that must not be broken or you will have great personal stress. This is why it is important to keep your business seperate from your personal finances. Your business is one thing, your personal finances are another, and that is don’t spend more than you earn. In business, it is generally held that you don’t have more expenses than revenue, but sometimes it takes some borrowing to create revenue. 
4. Know where ”home” is. This may seem strange to put this here, but having lived a transient lifestyle due to my opera career, I have always wanted to put my stake in the ground somewhere, and have always had to pull it up and move it. Knowing where home is and being at home there is probably one of the least recognized and most important parts of living a successful life.
5. Partners. Who you spend time with is who you become. This also applies to your effect on others. Your associates will reflect the person you are, so if you want good associates be strong in who you want to be, and if your associates don’t have the qualities that are good for you, get new associates. The most important part here is to know how you want to be and to keep moving towards that. Be an inspiration to others but don’t try to pull up dead weight, it will eventually pull you down.
6. Be ON TIME. Being on time is a psychological indicator of respect for others. People who are late are stealing other people’s time. The people who are late think that rules don’t apply to them. Be ON TIME with everything. Paying bills, doing taxes, going to meetings, travelling… whatever it is, punctuality is a non-negotiable rule. Besides, being late causes unneccessary stress, why do that to yourself?
7. Stay clean and organized. Regardless of how some people like to make it somehow a sign of a free spirit to not be organized and clean, the fact is, you can’t be free unless you are. Everything from personal hygene, a clean and orderly home and a business that is caught up, it gives you peace of mind to be clean and organized.

I think everyone needs their set of rules to live by. It is sort of like signing a contract with yourself and society.