Mentors Library - The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: Extended Summary Based On The Book By Vishen Lakhiani

The Code of theExtraordinary Mind shows how we have been exposed to culture andsociety, one that imposes a summary of rules that have shaped us tobe ordinary individuals. This book that was written in 2016,proposes ten unconventional laws that will transform you in aradical way. It will enable you to overcome the madness of the dayto day and change your beliefs and actions, so that you canredefine your life in a meaningful way. It will assist you toachieve focus on the life that you will be able to rewrite andstand out in what really matters. You can become an extraordinaryindividual capable of changing your beliefs, so that you findhappiness and meaning in your life. In other words, this work,written by Vishen Lakhiani, aims to help people ignore theautomatic pilot they live by and adopt an intentional way oflife.

In thefollowing lines, it is revealed why we should question the rulesimposed on us. We will see how someone who used horrible glassesbeing attractive despite having an embarrassing past, and what itmeans to be a happy person within himself. It is explained how toavoid drama and negativity interfering with their inner peace.

This is aframework in which we are shown how the 10 laws are divided into 4stages. The first two laws describe the world around us and how ithas shaped us, the next three laws teach us to change theperception of the world in which we live. Laws six, seven and eightlead us to a better life thanks to changing our mental attitude.The last two laws teach us to change the world through employingthe previous laws.

The rulesimposed by society and our cultures throughout the years, whichhave been followed for generations, have made them a relativetruth. Rules that we believe in then turn our lives into acompletely safe environment, without ups and downs. It is a systemin which is grounded in reality. However, it does not teach how tothink or how to act, nor how to follow systems of life that dictateto us to believe that what is imposed is what is right.

Outdatedbeliefs are put into our hands, that make us believe what must bethe best job or kind of education for us to be truly accepted. Italso enforces which is the best way to dress and apply grooming tolook good. From when we are small, we are forced to aspire to bedoctors, engineers or lawyers, leaving aside what we are passionateabout. We are taught how to love, how to eat, who we should marryand are encouraged to lead a lifestyle similar to people who aresuccessful, because they followed the rules that were also imposedby life. And only by following these rules, can we besuccessful.

The author grewup with this belief. He discarded his idea of practicingphotography or dedicating himself to art, he insisted on becoming acomputer programmer and getting the best job in this area. When he"succeeded" and reached the best job in Microsoft, he realized thatthis was not the life he wanted and left this field of work.

Like theLakhiani case, there are many examples of people who allow theseterrible rules to govern their lives. The result for these peopleis a continuous dissatisfaction with the profession they chose and,like Lakhiani, with time comes that epiphany that gives them thecourage to resume their desires.

The most worrisome fact is that many of usdo not realize that the beliefs that govern our lives are not ours.They are ideas that we adopt from our family and our society. As already mentioned,giving up these beliefs requires a lot of courage, but if it issomething that limits us and, to a certain extent, is harmful, whyis it so difficult for us to put them aside? For the simplereason that, as human beings, we fear leaving the security of thethings we already know.

Moreover, theserules have a rationale and form a vital part of every civilizedsociety. In fact, it was under the study of the father ofpsychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, who concluded that the presence ofthese social norms and the pressure on individuals limit the innateviolence of human beings. In other words, these rules exist tosupport and protect civilization.

We adopt theserules so well and are so accustomed to living under them that, overtime, they become second nature. This results in the inability ofindividuals to question their choices, and therefore discover theirpersonal value and direct their lives towards a larger purpose.

So, instead ofassuming these rules, what if we focus on not having a safe lifebut on a beautiful excursion where we walk the paths of anextraordinary life? We leave security aside and begin to create alife full of possibilities. Of course, rejecting these rulesrequires courage, but you must understand that you will feelextremely satisfied and, in addition, you will have great personalgrowth. Extraordinary minds can intelligently question those rulesthat have been imposed and that others believe in as a universaltruth, only because they have been believed from generation togeneration.

AnExtraordinary Mind not only questions these rules, but ignores themand takes a different and better path, the one that leads to a fulllife, which becomes a beautiful journey. So, if you want to have anextraordinary life, you must cross that barrier of absurd rules anddo what you think matters for your life.

Thus, anexceptional mind puts a stop to the foolish rules that do not agreewith your dreams and ambitions, and this leads to the number twolaw of this guide.

Extraordinarypeople do not blindly accept meaningless rules, they thinkdifferently and select the rules and conditions that they believeare useful for their lives. They leave aside those that are notmeaningful to have a full life. These people make the world abetter one for themselves.

Some of theseblindly accepted rules, include the expectation that you areunsuccessful unless you have a college degree, and you should notmarry someone of a different race. There is also one that youshould follow a religion and restrict yourself from anything elsethat society does not demand.

As shown bySteve Jobs, this reality does not guarantee success. He questionedthese rules and showed that it is unnecessary to have universitystudies to be an extraordinary man. He invented the smartphone andrevolutionized as many industries as he could.

If you have acomputer, you certainly wont have Windows 95 installed, becauseyou need up-to-date software for it to work efficiently and runningappropriately. In the same way, it is necessary to uninstall therules imposed by culture and society that do not lead you to have alife full of happiness, a word that is key in this book. It is areal challenge to install in our minds the rules that do satisfy usas people, those that have value and that do not limit us. We needto accept that the quality of our lives depends on ourselves andnot those that are accepted by the masses.

You must learnto depend on yourself and follow rules that you have created. Thiscan be a real challenge, because those around you accept normsblindly and will criticize your change, as it is something new anddifferent. But this is the beginning of a life of empowerment foryourself and those around you.

For this, youneed to always be ready for a change, and this brings us to law3.

It is commonfor people to have beliefs and prejudices, the problem is that, atsome point, these two elements will begin to make it difficult forus to meet our objectives. But are beliefs so powerful? Diverseresearch has discovered that ones beliefs have the power to moldthe reality of the individual. For example, some studies showedthat when middle-aged people have positive ideas about old age,they tend to live 7.6 years longer than those who saw ageing in anegative way. Similarly, people who feel worthy of getting the jobthey want are more likely to achieve it. Why? Because being anoptimist takes advantage of all the opportunities and interviewsthat are presented, which brings them closer and closer to theirgoal.