Many times in life we find ourselves in need of advice, whether it is for a new project that we have, a new business we want to start or just because we want to become successful.

But is asking for advice from successful people the right option?

Many times, when we do not have someone with the right qualifications and experience around to help us, we often turn to complete strangers and allow them to act as our compass.

At such moments, when we feel confused, we listen to and listen to opinions from as many people as possible.

But did you ever think that what worked for some people might not work for you? When it comes to complex things, no one knows exactly what it takes to make it work. The best way to be a successful person is to take risks and learn from your mistakes.

Successful people instructions

You can find advice from successful people all over the internet, in magazines and around you.

Just imagine some successful guy once thought “I’m living a cool life, I should write my paper today and spread this clue to everyone with a special price and give them a chance to live a cool life?”. Sounds realistic but a little bit ridiculous.

You see everywhere headings such as ‘How to become a millionaire in 10 steps’, ‘8 ways to make your business grow’, ‘9 ways to triple your income’.

Some of the bestselling books on this subject are How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, or The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard.

But there are also numerous blogs of people writing their opinions, thinking they know the key to success and how to make people reach their goals.

You can find such advice on Get More from Life, Make It Happen or Change Your Thoughts. Change Your Life, just to mention a few such blogs.

The best way to reach success is to break the rules of reaching the success

Sometimes the key to success is to break the rules, and there are some famous people who managed to do this.

One of them is Elon Musk, and the rule he broke is ‘Stick to what you know.’

Musk’s background is in finance, yet he is now the CEO of two companies, one of which in SpaceX, which manufactures rockets and spacecraft.  The other company is Tesla Motors which makes top notch electric vehicles.

Another worthy example is Steve Jobs who also broke a rule: ‘Play with the big boys.’ Steve refused to make the Mac OS compatible with non-Apple PCs and in his role at Pixar company he was ready to cut the profitable partnership with Disney when they did not agree with Pixar’s terms.

As you can see, fame and success imply risk-taking decisions and breaking the rules which work perfectly for others.

People you should actually take advice from

So should you take advice from anybody? And if yes, from whom? Whom could you trust the success of your business or your project?

There are a few people that you can ask for a word of wisdom and who will know for sure that they want the best for you. 

• People who care about you.

There are people who genuinely care about you such as your family or a lifelong friend. They are the ones who will offer you words of wisdom and who will disagree with what you are doing when they think that something you do is wrong.

They will see what you do from a different angle ad come up with suggestions for solutions that you might not see.

But there might be times when you should limit an overzealous person who bombards you with advice. Sometimes too much advice, even if it is well meant, might get in the way of your goals.

• People with a clear expertise.

There will be many people who will criticize your work, but if they aren’t in the ring with you, their opinions should not hold much value.

Turn your attention to people with the right expertise, ask them questions and listen to them. They are the ones who best understand the obstacles you are dealing with.

• Your clients.

You know how they say that your customer is your boss. There is some truth in that because they are the ones who use your services and buy your products, so you should pay attention to their needs and what makes them happy.

They are the best persons to tell you what you should improve from the user’s experience. So if they tell you that your website is not user-friendly or that a certain product is not worth the cost, you should take their feedback seriously.

Learn how to make the difference between valuable and worthless advice.

You will always find individuals who want to see you fail or people who simply think that what you do is a mistake and that you should give up on your dream.

Focus your attention on people who are valuable to you, learn from your mistakes and trust your guts.

About The Author

This is a guest post by Samantha Anderson.