Are you a Rhino or a Cow?

Success is achieved in very different ways.
There are different types of people in the world. Thank goodness we are not all alike. That would definitely be boring. Some people are happy with a job with a good company for many years, then retiring, others don’t want to keep the same job for too long and keep looking for something better, and still others want to work for themselves.

I read a great book one time called Rhinoceros Success. Actually it was the first of a three part series of books by Scott Alexander. In the book he described people and the hunt for success in a very unique way. I’ll give you a taste of what he tried to put across in his books.

There have been a lot of books written about how to sell, how to succeed in business, and other similar titles. Many of them give complicated formulas for success. In Scott’s books, he broke it down really simple.

He said, there are two types of people in the world, rhinos and cows. There are happy and sad rhinos and there are happy and sad cows.

Let’s start with the sad rhino. You all know a sad rhino. He or she is the workaholic. They are very successful at what they do but they are miserable doing it. They have a drive to succeed and make everyone around them miserable, but succeed they do.

These are the people that yell a lot, stress out over deadlines, and think the world is coming to an end if they don’t succeed at every little thing they do and when they don’t it’s someone else’s fault for not being a sad rhino too.

They are also the people who tend to die young of a heart attack or a stroke because of the enormous pressure they put on themselves. But don’t worry. If you are a sad rhino, I have advice for you later in this article.

Now, let’s go on to the happy rhino. These people are just as driven as the sad rhino to succeed, except they enjoy every minute of it. They know success is an elusive prey, but it’s the actual hunt they love more than the success itself.

They will always succeed because they do enjoy the hunt, not just the achievement after the hunt. It’s not even about the money. They enjoy succeeding and pushing those around them to succeed. They are usually ones who will give others more than their fair share of chances to succeed.

If you are a happy rhino, I have good news and bad news for you. I’ll give you the bad news first. I don’t have any advice for you later in this article. The good news is, you don’t need my advice. You are well on your own way to success. I’ll see you there. But make sure you are really a happy rhino.

A happy rhino gets up every morning way before they need to because they look forward to every day and want to get a head start. A happy rhino doesn’t need to yell at and bully others because they will follow the happy rhinos lead out of respect and because they want to be like them. A happy rhino leads by example.

A happy rhino let’s nothing get in their way. In the wild a real rhino charges at it’s prey in a straight line. If weeds and brush scratch at them, they have a thick skin and ignore it. If they fall down, they get right back up and immediately begin charging at their prey. There are single-minded of purpose, looking straight ahead and will not lose focus on their goal.

If success in your home business is your prey and you want to be a happy rhino, you have to do the things a happy rhino does. You have to charge after your success, not just do a daily grind. You have to enthusiastically charge! You cannot let the little things equal to the brush and weeds bother you. Have a thick skin and ignore those as just distractions. If something knocks you down, you have to immediately get back up and charge after your successful home business. So, are you really a happy rhino yet?

Okay, time to move on to the happy cows. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a happy cow. Us happy rhinos need all the happy cows we can get. Everyone has their own idea of success and not everyone wants to be a rhino at all. They don’t want to go go go or drive drive drive.

A happy cow is one who is happy working for a happy rhino. They love to help their boss succeed as long as they are treated well. The happy cow won’t work for a sad rhino for too long. They just want a good life, a good family, and a good job.

Some of them can have moderately successful home businesses, working for themselves even. They won’t have the same success as the rhinos, but they are not after that, They are happy with a little less and just want to enjoy life. They do not get all of their happiness from chasing success, like the rhino does.

Now let’s talk about the sad cows. They stand around chewing their cud, not doing very much, kind of biding their time. Then they see the happy rhino drive by in their Rolls Royce and say “Look at that lucky #$%^&”!”

Then they lower their head and go right back to grazing, not doing anything to change their lot in life, accepting whatever is given to them. They grumble that anyone who is successful, the sad and happy rhinos and even the happy cows, are just lucky and they can’t seem to get a break.

Admit it. You know at least one sad cow. Do you like being around the sad cow? Are you the sad cow? If you are or have a friend who is the sad cow, I give the following advice for sad cows.

Stop thinking everyone else is just lucky. Stop blaming other people for your own mistakes and laziness. Sit down and truthfully list your bad habits. If you need a trusted friend or family member to help you, get them to help you do this.

But you have to admit these mistakes and bad habits from the heart and immediately begin to change them one by one. You’ll be amazed at how fast you will become a happier cow, then maybe even a happy rhino if you want it bad enough.

Now my advice for all you sad rhinos out there. It’s great that you are succeeding in your home or other business. But YOU ARE LOSING ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ALIENATING ALL THOSE AROUND YOU, EVEN YOUR OWN FAMILY!

Get a clue. Succeeding in business is great. Succeeding in life is way more important though. Stop yelling. Know when enough is enough. Quit being a bully. Quit taking advantage of people. Quit taking people for granted. You think they will always be there to do your bidding and if they aren’t, well you didn’t need them anyway.

Nothing is further from the truth. The saying it’s lonely at the top was meant for sad rhinos. There will come a day when you are all alone with your success and you will find success alone is not a very good companion.

As for the happy rhinos, I only ask these things of you. Find a sad rhino and teach them to be a happy rhino. They will listen to you and you only. Take a happy cow to lunch. Try to sit a sad cow down and teach them what they are doing wrong.

I hope this article helps you find out where you are in your hunt for a successful home or other type of business and in your life. I also hope it helps you understand how to change the habits you might need to change or helps you help someone else learn about being successful.