15 Ways to Get Ahead of 98% of People
98% of people aren't living up to their full potential. They form their opinions based on superficial things that they hear. They can't manage themselves, but they also don't think enough about themselves, what they want, and what makes them happy. All of these things lead to you underperforming, not by society standards, but by the way you feel. And that's stopping you from reaching the things that you're truly capable of.
If you can master and overcome the things that most people struggle with, you will get ahead. So let's get into it! Here are 15 ways to get ahead of 98% of people, starting off with number one:
Get your normal life in order first. How can you start a new course, apply for different jobs, or even get married when your everyday life is a hot mess? You can't. Well, technically, yeah, you can, but it will be a show. Most people aren't held back because they don't have the skills and opportunities to progress; they're weighed down by the chaos in their personal lives.
The chaos can range from really simple things, like a messy home space and a boring unhealthy routine, to more complicated stuff, like being in debt and a bad relationship. Research shows that romantic relationships at home have a major impact on how people perform at work. You can't work well when you're stressed about your home life. Research by the University of Mexico shows how clutter and mess in your home affect your well-being too, as well as what you eat and your mental health.
So before you can do all of the things you have to do to get ahead of everyone else, you need to get on the same footing as them, and you can do that by creating a structured, orderly life with things you can control. You want to be more productive? Well, studies show that having a structured and organized life leads to better productivity and mental well-being. So that is where you start. You start with the basics: clean up your environment, create an interesting but structured routine, and fix your relationships. Most people don't actually have this, so if you fully commit yourself to fixing these things, you'll get way ahead of them.
Number two: find a truth that most people dismiss. There are some truths out there that we hear every day, and we think everyone else is following it, so we don't consider it a gold mine of knowledge. But the thing is, those people are just like you. They may hear the truths, but they're not living by them. They think it's common knowledge that the rest of the world is following too, but if you watch carefully, most people are still following the crowd.
Most people are still working with one stream of income that they get from working for a company, even though we know how multiple streams of income, even if they're small, are more likely to grow over time. Even though we know that we live in an era where starting a business is much more accessible and it's something that you can do in your free time, it's like the experts are shouting at everyone to move differently. The crowd is marching, and some people look back, but they keep moving on with everyone else.
You might be that one person who looks back and then turns around. Sure, you might be walking in a different direction, but the crowd isn't walking to a destination you want, so you're not missing out on anything here. Niche markets are more profitable than mass ones. Everyone thinks that AI is going to replace art, so people are learning to code. But wait! Okay, think coding is more definitive; art is a lot more broad. AI works well within limits, not outside of them.
So in the next few years, what's really going to be in demand? You find the truths by looking at the things people struggle with, by seeing what's unpopular and why, and by following contrarian thinkers like Nasim Taleb or Peter Thiel. A small percentage of people understand the value of a truth that most people dismiss, and an even smaller percentage follow through with some action on that truth. If you follow through, you're already ahead of most in the world, whether you succeed or not.
And on a similar note, number three: be contrarian just for the sake of it. Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said, "Most people are other people; their thoughts are someone else's opinions; their lives a mimicry; their passions a quotation." If you can move away from that and form your own opinions, you'll get ahead of everyone else. You'll get to know yourself better while everyone else is still unhappy and confused about it.
You do that by challenging conventional thinking. Be contrarian just for the sake of it—not to argue, but to see which divisive things you actually agree with. Think about this: when most people are planning their holidays, they look for the Instagrammable places and the top-rated cafes. When they're planning their health journey, they look for the best-reviewed diets and exercise programs. When they're stressed, they talk about how stressed they are. When they're broke, they talk about inflation and the cost of living.
Everyone is saying the same damn thing; there are no original thoughts. The quickest way to find out what makes you tick is to say the opposite thing to everyone else. You'll eventually start adopting different ways of thinking, and you'll begin to understand yourself outside of what the crowd is following. So instead of saying you're broke because of inflation, you could say you're broke because you decided to spend a bit more money on organic food this month. It doesn't have to be totally true; you just have to get your mindset to move away from what everyone else is thinking and saying.
That is how you master your emotions, your mind, and your resilience. Whatever the world is doing right now isn't working, so do the opposite.
Number four: listen to what other people say they're afraid to do, then do it yourself. In conversations with your friends, colleagues, and networking events, stop talking about yourself and listen to other people. Listen to them talk about their ideas that they didn't manage to get off the ground. Listen to them talk about things they're struggling with and ask them about the things they're afraid of. Always ask why. Why are they afraid? If one person is afraid, then it means there's a good chance a lot of other people are too, so there is a gap for you.
You just have to be the one who isn't scared. When others are too scared to take action, that's when you step in. The things that intimidate other people are the things that are going to push you forward. There's a chance for you to seize opportunities because everyone else is playing safe. So make those bold career moves, change cities, and start that business. Be part of that 2% who face their fears—not the 98% who give fear a big old hug and allow it to dictate their entire life.
Number five: do it now. If you're going to do it eventually, one of the biggest obstacles holding people back isn't even an obstacle; it's a habit, an excuse, a pointless mindset. "I'll do it tomorrow when I've got more time." Look, okay, 20% of people are habitual procrastinators; 75% of people consider themselves procrastinators. Okay, it is everywhere, and it negatively impacts your rate of success. It reduces your self-confidence, affects your attitude toward learning, and leads to feeling anxious and depressed.
You'll have the same amount of time tomorrow as you do today. All right, nothing is going to be different; it's just today all over again. And the majority of the world follows this mantra, which is great for you, okay? Because that means that to get things done, you don't even have to take a massive leap. You literally just have to start by doing the bare minimum. The important word here is "start." Get off the ground, no matter how small and imperfect that small step is, because time compounds both action and inaction.
Most people are waiting for the right time; that's never going to come. All right? If you do it now, you'll be way ahead of them by the time they really realize it and start themselves. This goes for everything—from cleaning your house, upskilling yourself, to negotiating your salary. If you can do it now, then do it.
Number six: pick your hero and then consider them healthy competition. Your hero is the person you already consider to be ahead of most—the person at the gym who lifts heavier and hardly seems to break a sweat. Compete with them. The person at work who gets good results and all the praise? Find out how, why, and what they're doing differently. Your most sociable friend who effortlessly charms everyone? Watch how they do it, see if you can do it better.
For everything you want to be better at, pick the best person you know to compete with. Make sure it’s healthy competition by focusing on what you admire about them. Research shows that people who have good role models are more likely to feel established in their career. They feel more fulfilled, and they've got a career that pays enough. Don't become obsessed with them; don't judge them, and do not copy them. Use them as a way to measure your own progress and keep yourself motivated. The day you surpass them is the day you know you have to set your sights a little bit higher.
Number seven: you need to be a little bit selfish. If you want to be better than everyone else, you have to be a little selfish. You can't feel guilty about wanting more money, better health, and to be better looking with nicer clothes and a more charming personality. Seeing the world as a competition isn't bad or evil. There are perfectly ethical strategies of winning. Everyone secretly wants more of something, but they're scared of being judged for it, so they'll never admit it to themselves.
If you can admit your most controversial goals to yourself, you put yourself ahead of everybody else. And you should know that you can't take care of anybody else if you do not take care of yourself. You have to feed yourself first. Your rise to the top will require some selfishness. That doesn't mean stepping on anybody else; it just means that for a short time, you have to let go of the virtue signaling and narrow your focus slightly. You can pay everything forward once you found your own footing.
Number eight: treat yourself like your best manager treated you. If you've ever had a brilliant manager, then you know just how much they can inspire you, how easily they share knowledge and wisdom, and how much better you feel after a meeting with them. A great manager can talk about your weaknesses without making you want to hide away from them. They can tell you exactly what you have to do to leverage your strengths, and you leave your meetings feeling inspired.
That is how you have to manage yourself. You need to be having weekly and monthly performance review meetings with yourself. Just like a great manager, evaluate what you've done well, where you messed up, and what lies in store before the next meeting. You encourage yourself, celebrate, and show yourself opportunities that you should consider for progress. Everyone is autopiloting through relationships, career, finances, emotions, and physical and mental health, and this process grounds the autopilot to a halt.
This is also why we developed the Alux app; it can act as a manager in your life. It shares daily knowledge, analyzes your strengths and weaknesses, and gives you a learning path to work on them, keeping you accountable every single day. Every three months, we re-evaluate your learning path progress and see if you're ready to move on to a new level. It tracks your progress in all of the different aspects of life. You are the manager, and the Alux app is your personal assistant. It's like a win-win.
And at the end of this video, we've got a little gift for you on your app journey, so stay tuned until then.
Number nine: Master skills that compound over time. Mastering skills is a more action-oriented way to get ahead of people. A lot of what we've spoken about in the other points are based on your mindset or following one key rule. This one takes a bit more work. You need to choose one skill and spend the next year mastering it. Do some research on the 10 most coveted hard skills that will be valuable in the next years. Read about them and write down two or three skills that you like the sound of.
Research how much money people make from them right now. Look at the predictions for their value in the future. You'll see things like coding, content creation, data analytics, project management, and a range of other skills come up quite often. So choose one, and then for the next year, throw yourself into multiple courses to learn about it. While you're doing that, you're also going to perfect a soft skill—time management, confidence, communication, or diligence. Look up the most valuable skills and throw yourself into learning about this too.
While these skills are valuable, not enough people are paying attention to them yet. There's movement, but it's slow, and even fewer people are focusing on the combination of hard and soft skills. The people who throw themselves into both are going to come out on top. These skills compound over time, so you're not going to just use them in a company; you're going to use them to create your own thing, freelance, and consult and work for yourself. You can scale this type of knowledge so that one action leads to multiple results.
Number 10: become a specialist by putting in 11,000 hours of work. You know they say it takes at least 10,000 hours of work to become a specialist, so you need to put in 11,000 hours. That's a lot of hours, okay? We get it; most people won't even come close. So whatever you specialize in, you can't just learn about it. You have to make it your job before you're even considered an expert. That's the only way you're going to be able to do it in a reasonable amount of work.
You can't wait until you know everything before putting what you know into practice. You can't let your lack of knowledge in the area hold you back from pursuing it. Only working on your expertise in your spare time isn't going to cut it, okay? It has to become a part of your life. So you find a way to bring it in. Think about your experiences and your current career: do you enjoy it? Would you like to throw yourself into it some more, or do you want a change in direction? And if you decide to change direction, you have to do it fully. A specialist is ahead of everyone else; if you want to get there, you have to find a way to put in 11,000 hours of work. That is how you join that 2%.
Number 11: constantly check the connection between your priorities and actions. Your priorities change more often than you realize. But even more importantly, even when you've outlined the things that are important to you, it is easy to veer off track without even realizing it. It's as if you're wearing a blindfold when you're walking a straight path. You think you're moving in a straight line, but when you take off that blindfold, you see just how far off course you've gone.
Checking in to see if your actions match your priorities is like taking that blindfold off. The day-to-day chores of life can derail your plans, but if you do a quick check-in every day or every week, you can slot in a step that will get you closer to your goal. But an even smaller percentage takes off their blindfolds regularly and does a little course correction. You need to get in with that crowd. You've put yourself ahead by knowing your priorities and planning your actions, and now you need to give yourself an extra boost by making little shifts every now and then to stay on track.
Number 12: downplay the bad stuff and embellish the good stuff. Ah, you know this one might make some people uncomfortable, but let's be clear; this isn't about lying or being delusional. It's actually about calming yourself down and doing it in a way that most people don't do. It's positive thinking, and we know it sounds cliché, okay? But studies show it leads to lower blood pressure levels, healthier lifestyle choices, and better coping skills for most people.
When they have a stressful day at work, they can't wait to get home to their partner, hop on a call with their parents, or head out for drinks with friends so they can vent. They talk about their stressors, their worries, and their problems. They might feel better for a minute, but then later on in the evening, everything they spoke about seems even more overwhelming. When you downplay the problems, you take away some of their power and you make your mind believe it's manageable enough for you to conquer it.
When you give more attention and gravitas to the good stuff, your mind gets a little ego boost and motivation. So now you've given yourself more resources to tackle a smaller issue. You don't feel as overwhelmed about it, so you also have more mental energy and clarity to deal with the problem and make sure it doesn't happen again. Everyone else is following the opposite strategy, and we can clearly see it is not working for them.
Number 13: become a question master. Networking is one of the best but one of the least used strategies in getting better career opportunities. It's not just because people don't understand the value of networking and aren't doing it as often as they should; it's because people have no idea how to network. They're treating it like it's some kind of sale.
Walking up to someone you admire at a conference and talking about your brilliant idea and how you would love to join their team is so socially awkward, unless you're brilliant like Bill Gates or Elon Musk kind of brilliant. You need to stop that, okay? The best networkers are masters at asking questions, and honestly, 98% of people just talk about themselves. They don't even know that they're doing it, but people feel great when they talk about themselves. They love when others ask them a genuinely interesting question.
They'll feel connected to you, not because you were vulnerable and shared a story, but because you were interested in them, and they shared something with you. So now they're vulnerable. Become a question master and everyone will think that you are fantastic company.
Number 14: set one impossible goal and tell everyone. Keep your smaller achievable goals to yourself, or share them with others if you want to; that's totally up to you. But for this one huge goal that seems impossible to everyone else, share it. It might take you a lifetime to reach that goal, but that's a great one to have. It might be crazy, but it's fun to pursue it and see how far you'll get.
It's also fun to see people's reactions and disbelief when you tell them. That disbelief and doubt is like fuel for you to keep pushing toward that impossible goal. Have some ambition and pair it with a decent amount of work—see how far you can get and then keep going further. The goal alone will set you apart; the steps toward it, no matter how small, will leapfrog you forward.
And number 15: become a master storyteller. People are terrible communicators, okay? Truly, they have no idea how to convey their ideas in interesting ways. They hesitate, they add caveats to their pitches, and bring in details that don't even matter. Sometimes it's because they don't know what they're doing, but a lot of the time it's because they don't know how to get their message across.
There's a method to storytelling—a formula to follow that will entice people, quell their doubts, and make them believe that you know what you're doing. If you can master that, then you'll be able to persuade, influence, and inspire the people around you. You will be at the top part of that 2%, and everyone will be looking to you for the next move.
And that's all from us today, Aluxir. We promised you a gift, though, so here it is: Go to the Alux app, download it, and then come back here to this video and scan the QR code on screen. Not only will you get 25% off the yearly membership and a 7-Day free trial, but you also get exclusive access to our paid course on mastering time management. Mastering time management is an ace up your sleeve that will boost you ahead of the rest. We'll see you on the inside!