Brad Szollose said, “If you really want the key to success, start by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.” 

Companies like Apple, Starbucks, and Southwest Airlines have had tremendous success because they took the road less traveled, they did things differently. Leaders such as Reed Hastings (Netflix co-founder and CEO), Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO), and Larry Page (Google co-founder and CEO), succeeded because they took a novel approach to how they live their lives, and how they run their companies.

You have to take an innovative approach if you want to stand out, otherwise…you’ll get lost in the background. If you’re not distinctive, you’ll be forgotten, and no one wants to be forgotten.

So here’s a list of 45 ways in which you can separate yourself from the pack!

Instead of:

  1. Following all the rules, try breaking some rules
  2. Meeting expectations, exceed expectations
  3. Being good at everything, be great at one thing
  4. Thinking small, think big
  5. Executing your plan tomorrow, execute it today
  6. Wishing for it, ask for it
  7. Telling the facts, tell a story
  8. Being negative, be positive
  9. Feeling overwhelmed, feel well able to accomplish the task
  10. Following the crowd, be the first to take a new approach
  11. Being different, be better
  12. Rushing, take your time
  13. Thinking short-term, think long-term
  14. Being like everyone else, be yourself
  15. Spending, save
  16. Being informational, be inspirational
  17. Looking away, maintain eye contact
  18. Being quiet, ask a question
  19. Having lunch with friends, have lunch with someone new
  20. Talking too much, be quiet
  21. Procrastinating, act right now
  22. Blending in, stand out
  23. Doing it slow, do it fast
  24. Thinking you can’t, think you can
  25. Charging a fee, give it away
  26. Being silentintroduce yourself
  27. Feeling insecure, feel entitled
  28. Dressing for comfort, dress for success
  29. Playing it safe, take a risk
  30. Being shy, be bold
  31. Giving up, work harder
  32. Speaking quietly, speak loudly
  33. Being absorbed with yourself, be absorbed with others
  34. Having poor posture, stand erect
  35. Being an introvert, be an extrovert
  36. Frowning, smile
  37. Being selfish, be generous
  38. Expecting to fail, expect to succeed
  39. Sending an e-mail, stop by and visit
  40. Avoiding failure, fail forward
  41. Taking up as little space as possibletake up as much space as possible
  42. Watching television, read a book
  43. Avoiding conflict, become a peace broker
  44. Saying yes, say no
  45. Saying no, say yes