“What are the lessons people most often learn too late in life?” — a question that hits thousands of people on Quora . Guess what’s topped the list? Following the convention is said to be one of the things people regret the most later in their lives. You may be surprised: isn’t following the convention a quality of a good citizen, the quality of being a good sheep? The brutal truth is, however, following the convention is an obstacle on your path to success. It leads you to nowhere but mediocrity. The old rules only yield mediocrity. The cruel reality is that only very few of us would enjoy the taste of success. The others, no. This echoes the 80/20 law proposed by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. An example illustrating this law is that 80% of the wealth in a society is enjoyed by only 20% of the population. The gist of this theory is that only the minority, or the elite, will succeed. And the other 80% of people will remain at the average level. Given the convention is