They see the world through a different lens, and their motivation and drives are different from others. One thing unique among them is, they never get lost. That is, they always have a clear sense of direction and purpose in what they are destined to achieve.

While others may fear the unknown and the uncertainties, they are seldom threatened. More often, they are energized by the opportunities to leverage on their talents for great success. They are visionaries by nature, who derive euphoric and empowering experience from events that are perceived by others as too uncertain and risky. They are usually borne leaders who capitalized on times of ambiguity to blaze new trails.

In short, they are trailblazers of their followers who are immobilized by fear and desperately seeking direction and leadership.

Contrary to the leader, the mindsets of the average people are programmed for safety, and have low tolerance for risk and ambiguity. People with such mindset rarely accomplish much in life. They are at best a good follower.

All worthy scientific breakthroughs and innovations in the history of man have no precedent before them. Any attempt of innovation is a big step into the wilderness of risk and uncertainty. There is no room for safety and certainty.

We all know that great and successful people like Albert Einstein, Howard Hughes, Michael Jordan, and Bill Gates were once subjects of ridicule before they gained success in their career. Almost without exception, most endeavors that eventually gain unparalleled success and achievements usually started off without any encouragement. On the contrary, most creative and intuitive personalities who thrive on the unknown were usually not understood by people around them, and were often labeled as losers by those myopias of the society.

It takes great emotional resilience and a strong self-esteem to be able to remain optimistic and press on with the venture, when one is being labeled as loser. These are the key qualities that ensure their survival and eventually propelled them to ultimate greatness. These are also the qualities that make them renegades and arrogant.

Great people did not choose to be renegades. They know they cannot go far without freeing themselves from the shackles of conventional thinking and opinions. They have to be a visionary renegade to survive the constant derision from the pre-programmed myopias.

Unfortunately, most children today are programmed with mediocrity at the early age. This mediocrity programming comes from the system where the children are taught to conform. The system expects conformity of thoughts and behavior in ways that are socially acceptable. Children are molded mentally and psychologically to be "socially correct" and not to rock any boats.

Visionaries like Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, and Charles Darwin would never have achieved what they did if they did not have the courage to break away from the shackles of conformist thinking.

The Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are known to be a group of people with significantly different personalities. Most of these men were free spirits who scorned tradition and disregarded the self-preservation mentally of the society. They were iconoclasts who think differently, dressed informally, and create innovative ideas relentlessly. They took extraordinary risk to venture new concepts, and invented new revolutionary technologies that change the way we live, work, and play.

Conformity breeds mediocrity, while stifling vision and creativity. When internal vision is limited in any way, it becomes a roadblock to future success.

To achieve any real success in life, one need to have a mind of his own, to be a visionary who knows where he is going, and to have an unshakable confidence in what he has chosen to do.