I have become obsessed with pirates recently. 

I’m not talking about the stereotypical image of a pirate, crossbones and skulls, black and white, eye patches and walking the plank. 

I’m talking about pirates who challenge the status quo. Pirates who question rules and make their own. Who create systems which are well ahead of their times, who build their work on values and principles.

Those kind of pirates. 

Think Malala, think Martin Luther King Jr, think Nelson Mandela. 

Those kind of pirates.

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“The greatest power was in being themselves and leading by example, rejecting the prejudiced protocols of the day and charting their own course instead, a fundamental principle of a Be More Pirate mindset.”
Sam Conniff Allende 

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You can call them pirates, you can call them rebels, you can make up a new word  for them, it doesn’t matter, the principle still stands. When you challenge what doesn’t serve you and question the limitations which your society and culture has set upon you by some arbitrary rules, you create a platform to pave a new path for yourself (and others) to create a more fulfilling reality. 

But how do you do this, where do you even start? How do you rebel, be more pirate in order to pave a new path for yourself?

1) Break one rule – not just any rule – but the rule that is stupid that you have to follow every day that you know is ridiculous, that you know someone made up one day that doesn’t make sense, which is out dated and limiting. 
Break it, see how it feels, see what happens. Then break another rule. 
Focus on the idiotic rules that your society around you has set, or which maybe you have set as a result of your environment. Break them!

2) Re-write the rule – replace it with something. Don’t just be a rebel without a cause. The rule is holding you back, so replace it with something that would create more opportunity for you. Create your rules based on values and principles, one that  allows you to move forward in the direction that aligns to your own purpose.

3) Grow a network – one which aligns better to your new rules, to your principles. But equally be careful you don’t get sucked into another set of rules which over time will limit you again. Keep challenging and re-writing the rules to keep yourself moving forward by surrounding yourself with different people who think differently to you.