The 10 strange habits of successful people

One thing is for sure: the most successful people – in the artistic, sports, political and business spheres – are out of the box. Maybe that’s why it shouldn’t surprise us that they have strange habits, but some are so unheard of that it’s impossible not to be astonished.

These are the most exotic practices of successful people.

Get up early … VERY early

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 11 years, began her days not at 6 o’clock, not at 5 o’clock … but at 4 o’clock in the morning! It is said that he slept only 4 hours during the week. The question is, where did she get the energy to build the fame of the Iron Lady?

Wear different socks

Seth Godin, an American businessman and leading marketing theorist, is known for wearing brightly colored socks, full of shapes and different from one another. He does it to illustrate a point: that of not being afraid to “step out of the mold.”

Offer your day to Buddha

Before starting his daily activities, Eric Ripert, French chef and owner of Le Bernardin, one of the best restaurants in the world, meditates for a couple of minutes and offers his day to Buddha. Ripert is a faithful devotee of Buddhism and a follower of the Dalai Lama.

Wear an unusual work uniform

Suit, tie and briefcase? Bah: that uniform is for ordinary businessmen. Business mogul Steve Jobs challenged this rule by wearing a pair of jeans , a black turtleneck, and a pair of New Balance sneakers for all his meetings and conferences.

Always wear the same clothes

Why break your head wondering what to wear to work if you can always wear the same? This is the (strange) logic of Leo Widrich, a young entrepreneur and co-founder of Buffer, a company that manages company social networks . Leo prefers to always wear the same shirts so that he can focus his mind on “bigger decisions.”

Sleeping in a capsule

No, it’s not science fiction… Michael Phelps, a swimmer and American Olympic medalist, sleeps in an air-controlled compartment that simulates some 2,700 meters in height. The objective? Force your body to work even while you are asleep to produce more red blood cells and deliver oxygen to your muscles.

Write thank you notes by hand

Not all CEOs live glued to their cell phones and tablets. Dave Kerpen, owner of Likeable Local, a successful social media company, has a practice that allows him to have a close bond with his employees and customers: writing thank you notes by hand. At least write three a day.

Lock yourself in a hotel room

To be more productive during the day, Maya Angelou – poet, novelist, activist, actress, singer, screenwriter and film director – locked herself in a small hotel room from 7 am to 2 pm She carried a dictionary, a bible, a card game and a bottle of sherry … to stimulate your creativity, of course.

Self-drown

There are rare habits, but certainly none as extreme as Yoshiro Nakamatsu’s. The 85-year-old Japanese, inventor of the floppy disk, the karaoke machine, the taximeter and the digital clock, used to submerge his head in water until he was almost out of air. His idea: deprive the brain of oxygen and “push it to the limit.” He claims that being close to death he visualized his best inventions.

Work 130 hours per week

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, is known for her hobby – or rather, addiction? – to work. While working for Google, he used to put in 130 hours a week for the company (more than 18 hours of work per day, including weekends). It is said that, to cope with such a rhythm of work, he takes a week off every four months.