“Everything popular is wrong.” -- Oscar Wilde.

Do you schedule thinking time for yourself? Do you question the acceptance of popular thinking? Learning how to master the process of thinking well leads us to productive thinking. If you can develop the discipline of good thinking and turn it into a lifetime habit, then you’ll be successful in your life. Once you’ve created, shaped, practiced, reshaped, launched, and landed your thoughts, then flying them can be easy.

Unfortunately, this practice is based on the misconception that the masses usually think of. The masses do not question anything concerning the media. The media controls the masses in many ways through commercials, TV news, newspapers, radio news, movies, internet, or even through mobile app messages in a way that the majority of the population would not believe possible. And, that is often far from the right result.

Here is the example: Common saying among the masses is that “you have to work hard to succeed in this life”. Is it really so? People who work hard just work themselves to death. They become grumpy and start complaining about their hardships. They see no excitement in life; no hobbies or no goals in life. They are like the living dead.

You have to work smart, and apply the 80/20 principle if you want to achieve great results with least work. You should do what you are most passionate about, create value, give a lot, then you will receive even more. That’s pure pleasure of living.

Have you ever thought about how it’s much easier to achieve huge goals than smaller ones? This is because there is so little competition at the top because the masses don’t have big goals, they all compete to achieve mediocre goals.

When you aim high, you create your way to the top. You don’t compete. No one is trying take anything away from you. There are fewer rules and regulations at the top. Whereas when you try to achieve a small goal (e.g., get a job), there are many competitors out there. They will even use unethical ways to get what they want. Their mentality tells them to “eat or be eaten”.

So, here are nine effective practices that can develop uncommon thinking.

1. Create the thought: Successful people always question generally accepted standards and rules. It means thinking outside-the-box; creating your own rules rather than following the herd.

2. Write the thought: Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of everything is shit.” When thoughts are initiated, capture the thought by writing. What you write down, you can do better.

3. Rethink the thought: After writing down your thoughts, wait for a day or two, and think strategically about how you can stay focused on your thinking. If not, how can you remake them or go around them?

4. Verbalize the thought: When you verbalize your thoughts and share your thoughts with others, it creates accountability and consistency.

5. Practice the thought: Gain the experience you need, practice observing situation from different perspectives and learn from everything you do.

6. Reflect the thought: This is a step from good-to-great. Experience is not the best teacher, even if it got you to where you are being successful today. Some of these behaviors could actually be holding you back now, and in ways you don’t expect. With the fierce competition for jobs, will decision-makers continue to see you as the best person for the evolving responsibilities of the job you’re doing today? Evaluate experience and make the best judgement out of it.

7. Launch the thought: This is the time to shine your thoughts -- show me, not tell me.

8. Land the thought: Implementing your thoughts allows you to build a solid foundation. You’ll see the reality more even before others see it.

9. Upgrade the thought: When you think different ideas, you’ll realize that you’re so much further more from where you were. It will take you to the next level.

Uncommon thinking makes people successful. Or, in another scenario, they may have been among the masses, but then they started questioning such a way of living. They started to wonder “if this was all life could offer them.” And it started from there.

From now on, start questioning the reality, and do the opposite of what the masses do. Trust me, you’ll be a high achiever.

Good luck on your way to the top!