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. I came across a book that broke it down really simple.

The book 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. 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. They 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. When they fail it’s someone else’s fault. 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.

Then there’s 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.

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. He lets nothing get in his way. In the wild, a real rhino charges at its prey in a straight line. If weeds and brush scratch at him, he has a thick skin and ignores it. If he falls down, he will get right back up and immediately begin charging at his prey. He is single-minded of purpose, looking straight ahead and will not lose focus on his 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. You must 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?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a happy cow. Happy rhinos need all the happy cows they can get. Everyone has their own idea of success and not everyone wants to be a rhino at all. A happy cow is one who is happy working for a happy rhino. He (or she) loves to help his boss succeed as long as he/she is treated well. The happy cow won’t work for a sad rhino for too long. He just wants a good life, a good family, and a good job. He might have a moderately successful home business, and be self-employed. He is happy with a little less and just wants to enjoy life.

Then there is the sad cow. He stands around chewing the cud, not doing very much, kind of biding his time. Then he sees the happy rhino driven in his Rolls Royce and says, “Look at that lucky rhino (or something like that)! Then he lowers his head and goes right back to grazing, accepting whatever is given to him. He grumbles that anyone who is successful is just lucky and he can’t seem to get a break.

I expect you know at least one sad cow. Do you like being around the sad cow? Are you the sad cow? If you are, 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.
Admit these mistakes and bad habits and immediately begin to change them one by one. You’ll be amazed at how fast you will become a happier cow, or even a happy rhino!

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.

If you are a happy rhino, find a sad rhino and teach him to be a happy one. He will listen only to you. Take a happy cow to lunch. Try to sit a sad cow down and teach him what he is doing wrong.

This article is based on a book by Scott Alexander called “Rhinoceros Success”. Very highly recommended. Go and purchase a copy today. It could be your best investment.