Follow the rules, break a couple, that's the recipe for genius. The most remarkable people in any field understand that mastery requires first knowing what you're working with. If you follow all of the rules, you blend in, become invisible. Conformity is the path to mediocrity—you disappear into the crowd like every other person who chose the safe route.

If you break all the rules you become noise. Noise is quickly forgotten, dismissed as chaotic or unhinged. Complete rule-breaking without foundation is just randomness, and randomness doesn't create impact—it creates backlash. Nobody respects the person who never learned the game they're trying to revolutionize.

But if you learn most of the rules of a game, follow them to perfection, and blatantly break a couple, there's enough mix of belonging and rebellion, enough for people to care. This is where distinction lives. You've demonstrated competence and respect for the system, which gives you credibility. Then, your deliberate transgressions stand out precisely because they're exceptions, not the norm.

The trick to make this work: instead of just "breaking" rules, replace the less important aspects of your game with the most distinctive aspects of a different game. It's not mindless rebellion; it's calculated innovation. You take what makes you unique from another domain and blend it into your mastery of this one. The result is something that feels familiar enough to respect, yet distinctive enough to remember.