The Four Cornerstones of Unconventional Success

Let’s play a game this week, shall we?

I’ll say a word, and you think about what it means.

This word has 7-letters.

It’s impactful, it’s intimidating.

It’s a measure of accomplishments.

It’s how you decide if you’ve “won” or “lost” in life.

The word? “Success.”

Now “success” looks like a lot of different things to different people...but let’s idealise for a sec.

Pretend that the sky isn’t the limit, and think about your dream definition of “success.”

What does it look like?

Does it seem “crazy” or “impossible,” like:

• Travelling and experiencing the world.

• Buying nice things without stress.

• Making a difference in your family’s lives.

• Crossing everything off of your bucket list.

• Writing the book you’ve had in your mind for years.

• Pursuing your lifelong passion.

But…

“Yeah, right. That’s not what people do.”

“What would everyone think?” 

“What if we failed?”

Thoughts like those are precisely how people get stuck in the loop of conventional success.

The kind of success that people are supposed to have.

The kind that’s socially acceptable to have.

The kind that won’t get you a judgemental glance or a “tsk tsk” from your gran, because everyone’s already seen it done the exact same way a million fucking times.

You probably already know how it goes:

• Grow up with your family.

• Leave for uni to earn a degree.

• Get a sensible, long-term job right after graduation.

• Meet someone, fall in love, and then get married.

• Buy a home with a white picket fence and start a family.

• Work the same full-time job until you retire quietly at home.

Follow this path, and everyone thinks you’re successful.

Not because it’s all that exciting or unique, but because you stuck to tradition, didn’t make too much noise, and did exactly what everyone said you should do.

Now, I’m not here to yuck your yum.

Be proud of what you’re proud of, white picket fence or not.

That’s not what this is about.

This is about how limiting the criteria are for conventional success.

How they’re completely immovable, and life-sucking, and mind-numbing.

And how they snatch “dreaming big” right out of your life’s equation before you can even decide what your dreams are.

So yeah, success can be conventional.

But it can be unconventional, too.

You can travel to your bucket list places, write a book, and chase your passions.

And sometimes, that’s just the kind of unconventional success you need for freedom and self-actualization.

So, if you’ve been ticking all the boxes you’ve been told to tick, but you're still feeling:

• Stuck

• Bored

• Frustrated

• Unfulfilled

• Disillusioned

• Discontented or

• Unenthusiastic

Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not your fault.

You didn’t “fail” at being successful.

You might just have been following the wrong blueprint.

Myths and Misconceptions About Success

The conventional, Status Quo blueprint for “success” is chock full of concepts designed to make you feel like a failure.

Inflexible guidelines and measures…

Myths and misconceptions…

Conventional definitions of success make you believe that you have to:

• Earn at least one degree.

• Get married and have kids.

• Work at the same job for years on end.

• Retire in the home you bought 50 years ago.

• Stay put to raise your grandkids and enjoy your nest egg.

Sure, those things can contribute to your perception of “success”...

If they’re important to you.

But they’re not important to everyone.

Anyone who says success is a one-size-fits-all approach is absolutely, undoubtedly, full-to-the-brim of shit.

And I’m living proof of that.

I’m the CEO of an 8-figure company, have an amazing relationship with Gabi (the love of my life), and live nomadically (currently writing this to you from Bali, about to head to Kuala Lumpur).

But I don’t have a university degree…

In fact, I’m a high school dropout.

I don’t have a yard with a white picket fence…

In fact, my yard is always changing as I travel the world.

I don’t have a fairytale origin story...

In fact, just 5 years ago, I was homeless, broke, and addicted to drugs.

Yet, somehow, I’ve still managed to find success.

My version of success.

Unconventional success.

And I owe that to taking action on the Four Cornerstones.

The Four Cornerstones of Unconventional Success

The Four Cornerstones each represent an essential area of understanding, growth, and personal development:

1. The Art of Business

2. The Science of Wealth Creation

3. The Craft of Lifestyle Design

4. The Journey of Personal Evolution:

Without learning, embracing, and applying the ideas embedded in each Cornerstone, you won’t be able to achieve Unconventional Success.

But why is that?

Why isn’t wanting it enough?

Well, think about it this way — you can’t build a house without a foundation.

If Unconventional Success is your dream home, the Four Cornerstones are the foundation.

You need the foundation to be strong, dependable, and consistent; otherwise, it’s a waiting game until the house comes crashing down.

You need the foundation, first.

And the Four Cornerstones are how to build it.

1. The Art of Business

The first Cornerstone is The Art of Business, and it’s all about refining and re-developing your understanding of what “a business” looks like.

This type of development requires you to reflect on what the ideal business model is for you, comparing what that used to look like, and what that can look like now.

For Cornerstone 1, your learning and development efforts should hone in on the following areas:

• How to start, grow, and scale your business

• How to create a freedom business that maximises your return on life

• How to find, hire, develop and retain a world-class team

• How to master the financials, so you have a predictable future

• How to systemise your operations and make business fun again.

• How to build an automatic selling machine

Mastering The Art Of Business means feeling confident in how to start and grow a business, how to develop a team and systems, and how to create a business model that, instead of shackling you, actually helps you achieve the life you used to wish you had.

2. The Science of Wealth Creation

The second Cornerstone, The Science of Wealth Creation, shifts your focus from business foundations to wealth foundations.

This development stage requires you to learn more about what you can do with the funds you have, making your money work for you in different ways.

For Cornerstone 2, your learning and development efforts should hone in on the following areas:

• How to make your money work for you whilst you sleep

• How to create a global, diversified portfolio of businesses and real estate

• How to keep more of the money you make

• How to manage risk, and build generational wealth

• How to find cashflow assets to fund your lifestyle

• How to become financially free

Accomplishing Cornerstone 2 means fully understanding why traditional saving isn’t enough and exploring new-to-you options for more effective money management and investments.

3. The Craft of Lifestyle Design

Cornerstone 3 is The Craft of Lifestyle Design. This stage challenges you to look inward and – possibly for the first time ever – truly consider what the life of your dreams looks like.

This development stage requires you to focus entirely on you — what you want, what you’ve always wanted, and how you can achieve it… despite what society says.

For Cornerstone 3, your learning and development efforts should hone in on the following areas:

• How to develop a comprehensive life plan to create your dream life

• How to develop the habits, systems, and rituals to keep you on track to your goals

• How to create a life that makes you healthy, happy and fulfilled.

• How to become a global citizen and live a location-independent lifestyle

• How to avoid the when-then fallacy and start living your best life

Accomplishing Cornerstone 3 means feeling empowered to throw society’s blueprint of “a good life” in the bin and starting to create your own blueprint for the life of your dreams.

4. The Journey of Personal Evolution

The final Cornerstone, The Journey of Personal Evolution, focuses on understanding the essence of self-actualisation – how you can realise (and appreciate) your fullest potential.

This development stage requires you to unearth a new mindset and approach to personal growth by figuring out what makes you happy/fulfilled/excited to wake up in the morning… and whether or not what you’re doing in life is actually getting you there.

For Cornerstone 4, your learning and development efforts should hone in on the following areas:

• How to reflect on past experiences, and identify common threads between them.

• How to figure out (and verbalise) your top values and needs.

• How to replace harmful habits with helpful ones.

• How to craft a vision of your ideal life looks, and chart a path to get there.

• How to find inspiration in others you’d like to model.

• How to work on improving yourself a little each day.

Accomplishing Cornerstone 4 means discovering how to maximise your potential, introducing habits and rituals that catalyse growth, and doing everything you can to become the best damn “you” that you could ever be.

Changing who you are through the lens of the Four Cornerstones seems like a lot, especially if this is the first good, hard look you’ve taken at your life.

I get it. I’ve been there.

But recognizing you need change is the first step towards achieving your dream life.

The rest of it — the self-development involved with the Four Cornerstones — will come with time, practice, dedication, and a goal-oriented mindset.

After all, there’s only one thing harder than giving it your all…

And that’s keeping everything the same.

Next steps

For so many of us, we’re born and raised with exposure to conventional success.

What “most” people should be happy about…

What “most” people should be proud of…

What “most” people should strive for to feel successful.

But I’m not “most” people.

And if you’re reading this, I’d wager you aren’t, either.

So, today, I challenge you to think about your dream life of unconventional success and find just one way to get yourself closer to achieving it.

That could be studying up on business...
(You might like this video on how to build a $100m company)

Calculating your financial freedom number…
(Check out the Minimum Viable Freedom formula in here)

Starting to design your ideal life...
(There are some great tips in here that might be useful)

Or venturing on the path of self actualisation…
(There are some useful exercises in here)

Get the ball rolling today, one small step at a time.

Because there are only Four things standing between you and your dream life...

So it’s time to get up and grow.

P.S: If you’re a 6, 7 or 8-figure entrepreneur, you might be interested in this…

The Nomad Entrepreneur Network: An exclusive, private, online community of 6, 7 and 8-figure entrepreneurs seeking to become citizens of the world and achieve self-actualisation through business, lifestyle design, and personal evolution.

Learn more here.

Sign up to join the waitlist now for your chance to become a founding member.

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Your help in building this community will be forever appreciated.