When NOT To Follow The Rules

 I am a bit of a rule breaker by nature.  I always have been.  Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I follow rules that make sense to me.   Now, let me clarify a bit before I hear sirens wailing outside my office.  It’s not the that I am a criminal.  It’s just that I have a bit of a contrarian streak in me (a lot of entrepreneurs do).  And I like to consider all options for myself.   I remember when I was just starting this business.  I had an office in my home, so I was almost always working.  There was just always something to do.  When I was at dinner with the family, I could hear my phone ringing in the office.  When I woke up in the morning I started working.  It’s what you do when you are starting a business.  No big deal.  But after a long winter, I was ready to break out! So in March I went to my wife and said “We need to take a quick trip to Florida…like now.  I am booking a trip for next week.”  She protested saying that next week was the mandatory state testing for the students, including our girls.  I looked at the school calendar and confirmed that it was state testing next week.  I also noticed that the following week was “makeup testing.” Then I pointed out to my wife something really important (to me).  I don’t care about state testing.  Not at all.   My oldest girl at the time was in third grade.  What does state testing have to do with her long term success?  The answer?  Not a damn thing. My wife agreed, but told me it was my job to tell the school principal.  “No problem,” I said.  I went to the school the next day to talk to her about it.  I said, “We are going to be taking the girls out of school next week for a family vacation.” She said, “But next week is testing.”  She waited for the impact of this enormous announcement to sink in. But I said, “I know.  But the next week is make up testing.  I am sure they can take the test then, right?”  She thought for a moment and said, “Oh…ok.  But if they take it later the girls will not get their results with the rest of the school!”  She clearly felt this was a big deal. “I literally don’t care about that at all.” I pointed out.   With nothing left to offer, the principal (who was very nice by the way) said “Well…have a nice vacation.” And we did. The point about this fun story (that became a fun vacation) is that rules are important.  They help keep society moving, and in many cases, polite.  On the other hand, I don’t think that rules are made to be followed blindly.  They are to be considered.  They should be evaluated.  And in some cases, they should be ignored.  Don’t ignore this!  It’s a great time to sign up for the VIP newsletter.  Each week we take all of the content we create and put it in one email for you to consume.  We know you are busy…so sign up to be come a VIP now.