“Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”

Rule number one: Trust yourself

What I mean by that is that so many young people are getting so much advice from their parents, from their teachers, and from everyone. But what is the most important is that you have to dig deep down and ask yourselves – who do you want to be? Not what, but who. I am talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be. But you, I am talking about figuring out for yourselves what makes you happy. No matter how crazy it many sound to people. So rule #1 is of course trust yourself no matter how and what anyone else thinks.

Rule number two: Break the rules

We have so many rules in life about everything. I say break the rules. Not the law, but break the rules. My wife has a t-shirt that says, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” Well, you know, I don’t want to burst her bubble, but the same is true with men.

It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That’s what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?

Rule number three: Don’t be afraid to fail.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Anything I’ve ever attempted I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail.

Rule number four: Don’t listen to the naysayers.

How many times have you heard that you can’t do this and you can’t do that and it’s never been done before? Just imagine if Bill Gates had quit when people said it can’t be done.

I hear this all the time. As a matter of fact, I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before, because then when I do it that means that I’m the first one that has done it. So pay no attention to the people that say it can’t be done.

If I would have listened to the naysayers I would still be in Austrian alps yodeling. I never listen that you can’t. I always listen to myself and say ‘Yes, you can.” This brings me to rule #5, which is the most important rule of all.

Rule number five: Work your butt off.

You never want to fail because you didn’t work hard enough. I never wanted to lose a competition or lose an election because I didn’t work hard enough. I always believed leaving no stone unturned.

Mohammed Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the ’70s when he was asked, “How many sit-ups do you do?” He said, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.” That what makes you a champion. That’s the way it is with everything. No pain, no gain.

And let me tell you – it is important to have fun in life of course. But when you are out there partying, someone out there at the same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter, and winning. Just remember that you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

 Rule number six: It’s all about giving back.

Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country.

Trust yourself, Break some rules, Don’t be afraid to fail, Ignore the naysayers, Work like hell, and Give something back.