Have you the guts to be different? Are you up to the challenge of standing out from the crowd, to stand apart from your own little herd? Do you have what it takes to set yourself apart from all the sad, pathetic people that you hang out with? Normal people are sad and pathetic – and most of us are normal. Years of psychological research and work in the area of personal development prove that the normal mind is out of control, it takes its cue from the events of our formative years instead of taking real action – the only kind of action that will achieve real and exciting results.

Unfortunately, however, most of us are afraid to be different. I’ve come across many people over the years who told me that they couldn’t be super-successful because they’d be afraid of losing their friends! By the same token, I know quite a few people who, years later, feel liberated by the fact that they no longer hang out with some of their old acquaintances! It appears that normal people hang around with other normal people as part of some bizarre support mechanism – normal people like having their own little victim support groups!

Herd behaviour is bizarre and you’ll never change your life until you leave the herd. Herd behaviour is positively dangerous to both you and all your fellow herd members. Once the herd agrees – albeit subconsciously or by omission – that some bizarre behaviour is alright, anything goes. Some years back this was proved in frightening circumstances by what has subsequently become Philip Zimbardo’s infamous Stanford prison experiment – so-called because the experiment was conducted at Stanford University and involved student volunteers from that university. The volunteers were divided, randomly, into two groups – one group would be the prisoners, the other group the prison guards. And, although the experiment was to last two weeks, it had to be stopped after six days – the prison guards had become obscenely violent, the prisoners totally submissive. The outrageous behaviour of the prison guards, through, was alright – everyone in that little herd subscribed to it so none of the guards was behaving, in their little parallel universe, in an inappropriate way.

All normal people behave inappropriately – because they never behave from a clear and focused state of mind that is present to the here and now. Normal behaviour is dictated by the subconscious mind and our normal environment. Normal behaviour cannot be appropriate because it has nothing to do with the reality of the present moment.

In other words, even though the Stanford Prison Experiment is an extreme illustration of normal behaviour (by the way, there are quite a number of other experiments that all reach the same conclusion), it does illustrate just how dangerous it is to run with the herd. More importantly, at a more fundamental level – and one that is affecting your ability to achieve effortless success and happiness – this normal herd mentality is stopping you from doing what your heart desires.

So distance yourself from the herd – once you’ve turned your back many of them will forget about you – and start putting your own life first. Step out of the norms of herd-like behaviour – you will be amazed at how liberating it really is.