The Brules Elimination Framework
Identify and discard society's bullshit rules that limit your potential
The Brules Elimination Framework provides a systematic method for identifying and discarding 'brules' — bullshit rules — which are societal norms, cultural expectations, and inherited beliefs that people follow without ever questioning whether they're actually true, useful, or aligned with their values. Vishen Lakhiani argues that most of the rules governing how we live — when to get married, what career path to follow, how to define success, what religion to practice, how to raise children — are inherited scripts passed down through culture, not truths discovered through personal experience. These brules create invisible cages that limit creativity, happiness, and human potential. The framework teaches you to examine every rule you live by, test whether it's based on evidence and personal experience or mere cultural transmission, and consciously decide whether to keep, modify, or discard it. The result is a life designed by choice rather than default — what Lakhiani calls moving from the 'culturescape' (the world of inherited rules) to conscious living.
- Most rules you follow were inherited, not chosen — question them all
- A rule is a brule if it's based on cultural transmission rather than evidence or personal experience
- You can follow a rule consciously (because you've examined it and agree) or unconsciously (because everyone else does)
- Extraordinary people consistently break the brules that ordinary people follow unquestioningly
- The goal is not to break all rules but to consciously choose which ones serve you
- Audit your inherited rulesMake a comprehensive list of the rules you live by across all major life domains: career, relationships, money, health, spirituality, parenting, education, and social behavior. For each rule, write down where you learned it — parents, school, religion, culture, media. Be thorough: include rules like 'you should own a home,' 'you need a college degree,' 'you should get married by a certain age,' 'hard work always pays off,' and 'you should put others before yourself.' Most people discover they're following 50+ unexamined rules.Pro tipNotice physical tension or defensive reactions when you write down certain rules — that tension often indicates a brule you're particularly attached to but have never examined.
- Apply the brule test to each ruleFor each rule on your list, ask three questions: (1) Is this based on my direct experience and evidence, or was it transmitted to me by culture? (2) Does this rule serve my current goals and values, or does it serve someone else's interests? (3) If I were designing my life from scratch with no cultural baggage, would I choose this rule? If a rule fails all three tests, it's a brule. If it passes at least one test, it may be worth keeping — but keep it consciously, not by default.Pro tipTest your brules against people from very different cultures. If a rule you consider absolute is meaningless in another culture, it's likely a brule rather than a universal truth.WarningDon't confuse brules with genuine ethical principles. 'Don't steal' is not a brule — it's an evidence-based rule that enables society to function.
- Design replacement rules based on your valuesFor each brule you discard, consciously design a replacement rule that's based on your personal values, evidence, and experience. If you discard 'you need a traditional career path,' replace it with something like 'I design my career around the intersection of my skills, interests, and market needs.' If you discard 'success means a big house and luxury car,' replace it with your own definition of success. The key is moving from unconscious rule-following to conscious life design.Pro tipWrite your replacement rules as personal principles and review them monthly. They'll evolve as you gain experience and clarity.WarningExpect pushback from family, friends, and society when you start living by chosen rules rather than inherited ones. This is normal and often temporary.
Lakhiani challenged the brule that companies need a single headquarters and that employees should work in one location. He built Mindvalley with 200 employees from 40 countries, and his family uproots to a new location for a month every year. These choices came from questioning the brules about work, office culture, and stability.
Vishen Lakhiani grew up in Malaysia, lived across the United States, and eventually settled in Estonia while running a global company of 200 employees from 40 countries. This extreme diversity of cultural exposure made him realize that the 'rules' he'd been taught growing up were not universal truths but arbitrary cultural constructs that varied wildly from one society to another. Rules about marriage, career, religion, and success that seemed absolute in Malaysia were irrelevant in New York, and vice versa. This realization led him to systematically question every societal rule and develop the brules framework, which became a core teaching in his company Mindvalley and his book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind.