These 6 Habits Are Stopping You From Disrupting Yourself

[This article was originally published on here Blog on Digital Disruption and distributed on Medium]

Tech industry is probably the most innovative industries in the world today -- the change is so fast paced, it's almost revolutionary. It's the perfect case of how disrupted entrepreneurship came into play in the last two decades.

Older monopolies are being upended by new players, industries are being overhauled, first retail, then travel, banking and insurance and now it feels as if virtually nothing or nobody is immune from disruption!

But in the midst of all this, someone has been sitting quietly and watching this all happen: Yes, YOU!

You've been spending time endless time on the web: from watching those silly "the next voice of ..." to someone bungee jumping or even occasionally wondering where the heck Matt* would be right now?

*Matt, the guy who gave up a mundane job one day and started traveling just because he wanted to dance amongst strangers.

This could be a story of individual disruption at its very best. Matt probably woke up one day and told himself that he this is what he was going to do.

So, how can you be like Matt?

Well, start by kicking these habits first!

Habit #1: You're a risk avoider

Have you ever considered bungee jumping? Maybe you watched a video on YouTube and thought it looked like fun, scary but fun. But before you make that jump (literally, I mean), it’s important to find out more stuff before doing that. It's no different in business.

As Peter Thiel explains in his book "Zero to One": Most common mistake many people make is to try to be cool in a crowded place (read: competition in mass markets) where as walking intuitively 180° away from the madness and creating a brand new monopolistic market is the thing the world needs so badly!

And guess who really kicked ass?

Only six percent of competitive risk companies had reached $100 million run-rate, while a staggering 37% of the market risk companies had soared past the $100 million mark.

Need I say more? There are many types of risk opportunities; some are more relevant than others for success but kicking ass is the best way to get up and running.

Habit #2: Not using your uniqueness for an unmet need

We all have something that makes us special and it comes out in the form of a special strength. To be successful in a highly competitive marketplace, you need to identify and develop your own distinctive strength.

Small story

Shapeways, currently a global leader in the 3D printing marketplace, Head Office in The Netherlands, had been tinkering with ideas to bring production to mass markets and walk away from traditional manufacturing competitors.

In 2007 founders Marleen Vogelaar and Peter Weijmarshausen took the best of mass manufacturing and handmade to empower people to avoid the major upfront investments and just go and startup producing themselves!

While it is really disruptive, it's not necessarily a bad thing, as we expect 3D printing to supplement traditional manufacturing and create new businesses, new jobs, and new wealth -- Weijmarshausen.

Sometimes Always! There are always ideas in your head that can shape the world, like I mentioned in my last post, there is enough pain going around in the world.

You just gotta stand up!

Habit #3: Not converting your idea with just-enough-capital

When it comes to decisions – in life and in business – sometimes limitations can be a good thing. In fact, having a limited amount of cash can force companies and individuals to get creative.

According to Entrepreneur magazine, 72 percent of the most successful new businesses don’t have access to money from private investors or bank loans.

While everyone obsesses over the wealth of successful entrepreneurs, they often forget that these people have normal lives just like you and me. JK Rowling, the famous Harry Potter writer was living on employment benefits when she started focusing on the story that would eventually open up her world and ours.

When you have the least, you are probably the wealthiest because you have nothing to lose and there are enough people who are willing to help you! So don't choke on that frugality; pick up the pen, keyboard or hammer and start tinkering.

 Habit #4: Being a fake elite

Stay away from fake elitism when you're disrupting. I've known entrepreneurs and individual disruptors full of doubt, self-conscious, busy on their product like a crazy bee. The best I've known ever!

Elitism is actually a big problem, and what makes elitism surrounding entrepreneurship so asinine: you don’t make a career out of disruption – well unless you’re a consultant.

Disrupting yourself or a market is a calling, not a job; it’s an effect, not a cause.

Sorry, but it’s the hard truth. So keep your mind open for opposing views and ideas; that’s what you’ll own forever, billionaire or not!

Habit #5 Not knowing when to move

Knowing when to make that disruptive move is crucial, but this sort of decision should not be taken lightly. Sometimes a great opportunity (or beautiful risk) is waiting for you already while you were toiling away at a life-sucking corporate job.

Another small story of a random guy selling Pez Dispensers:

Omidyar had tried a bunch of start-ups and after he got fed-up of it took a low-paying job at software-maker General Magic in 1994; he was also making a little money on the side as a freelance Web page designer.

Omidyar then met his wife-to-be, Pamela Wesley who really loved Pez dispensers, Wesley was looking for like-minded folks on the internet so he setup a personal webpage for her so she could communicate, buy from and sell to other collectors from all over the U.S.

He called it AuctionWeb; it eventually drew millions to his website. The website today is now known as eBay.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm –  Winston S. Churchill”

Pierre Omidyar’s success story shows how important it can be to keep challenging yourself, be attentive to someone’s pain and recognizing when it’s time to start over and try something new.

He had never expected to be a billionaire.

Habit #6: Intelligent is stupid, stupid is intelligent

The sense of belonging to a group is a basic human and animal trait but wanting to belong a group purely for cultural and intellectual entitlement is the famous trap which we all fall prey to.

Scientists have conducted experiments to prove that this is a trap. Two groups of school kids were subjected to three series of test: first one was easy, second difficult and third again easy. After the first test, they told the winner “how really smart they were” and the runner-up was praised for their hard word.

After all the three test what was revealed was interesting: the “smart” group performed 25% worse in the third round and the “hard-workers” improved 25%!

When Whatsapp founder went looking for the job at Twitter and Facebook he was rejected.

Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life's next adventure. — Brian Acton (@brianacton)  August 3, 2009

He worked harder and eventually sold his firm to the Facebook for a whopping $20 Billion!

Now tell me, who is really smart?

Oi! Have a bit of fun while you're at it, OK?

You've got be disruptive, both professionally and in your personal life. Don't be afraid to challenge received ideas about best practices and savvy strategies. And don't be afraid to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch!

If your unique talents are and how they could be used to contribute to the society. And remember: don't forget from your failures and continue to challenge yourself.

[This article was originally published on here Blog on Digital Disruption and distributed on Medium]