Breaking Jante’s Law

Hidden away in the middle of Denmark is the small town of Jante, or so goes Aksel Sandemose’s A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks from 1933. In this little village there are ten important rules, Jante’s Laws or janteloven as they are now known in Danish and Norwegian, that govern life:

1. Don’t think you’re anything special
2. Don’t think you’re as good as us
3. Don’t think you’re smarter than us
4. Don’t convince yourself that you’re better than us
5. Don’t think you know more than us
6. Don’t think you are more important than us
7. Don’t think you are good at anything
8. Don’t laugh at us
9. Don’t think anyone cares about you
10. Don’t think you can teach us anything
11. (And an unwritten rule for good measure) Don’t think there aren’t a few things we know about you

Collectively these laws govern life in Jante and have become a common sociological term used to describe Scandinavians in general. According to the Janteloven (Jante’s law), individual success and attention is a negative that should be avoided.

Jante’s Law in Practice

I spent four years living under Jante’s Law. I loved my time in Norway and all the people I met, but the crazy thing is: the law exists. And it’s contagious! In the classroom I found that in general Norwegians were less likely to raise their hand and say the answer even though they knew it. (There are obviously contradictions like André, but this is of course a generalizing theory). There also was a hesitation to run for office. Even for something as small as a class representative, the Norwegians would have to be nominated and wouldn’t throw their own hat in the ring. I could also feel it walking down the street where I got the sense that no one was looking me in the eye or trying to stand out in any way. And soon, I got sucked in and thought twice before sharing my own thoughts or insight.

I theorized often about janteloven and why it existed. Was it because they were raised in a generous welfare state where the goal was to improve the well-being of the collective? Was it from years of functioning as an agrarian/fishing society where they needed everyone to work together to survive? Was it simply from eating too much cod liver oil?

After four years I left Norway and was looking forward to breaking out of Janteloven. It was time to stand out, to do my own thing, to toot my own horn. Then I arrived back in the United States and realized Janteloven was all around.

Entrepreneurs and self-starters seemed to be rarities and when people asked about 9 Clouds and what we were doing, I was met again with janteloven: What makes you so special? What do you know that we don’t know? Why don’t you get a real job like the rest of us?

Write your own “entrenloven”

This is the danger for entrepreneurs today. Janteloven is ever-present. There are rules, norms and customs that we are expected to follow. However, to truly succeed as an entrepreneur, we must break these laws and create our own “entrenloven” (The law of entrepreneurs or more literally translated as The Center Law):

1. I’m a special person
2. I’m destined for greatness
3. I’m smarter than others think I am
4. I’m going to do better than expected of me
5. I am an expert in my niche
6. I’m an important person in my industry
7. I’m great at what I do
8. I can laugh at my own mistakes
9. Others want me to succeed, and I won’t disappoint them
10. I have learned along the way and will share that knowledge with others
11. (And for good measure…) I will surprise you

If we can follow this entrenloven, we will succeed. By always reaching for greatness, continually improving and aiming to surprise others, we can improve individually and through this personal growth can share our knowledge and experience with society. We do not have to sit back and wait for all of society to give us permission to succeed; instead, blaze the trail and show others how it can be done.

You may have visited the town of Jante, or maybe you even live in it, but rules were meant to be broken. Do not acquiesce to the power of janteloven; instead, write your own entrenloven. You’ll be amazed where you may end up.

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What other laws need to be added to entrenloven? Leave your comment below and let us know.

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