Zuckerberg. Tesla. Newton. They are your professors, your politicians, your military leaders, your CEOs. They are the all-serious, all-silent, all-awkward masterminds of the world. I’m talking about, you guessed it – the INTJ. You may see them but few get to know them. They hide in plain sight but their work will not go ignored.

INTJs have strong principles and many live spartan lifestyles most people couldn’t handle. They forgo many of the gratuitous comforts most people depend on and instead put their focus on completing tasks to an almost obsessive degree. It should come as no surprise then that they are among the top 4 highest earning personality types in the MBTI.

It is likely there are people out there who want to be an INTJ, or at least emulate the blueprint that makes many of them so successful. But don’t kid yourself – being a mastermind ain’t easy bro. If for some reason you decide that you want to become an INTJ or an honorary member of the INTJ club, here are the 8 unofficial ground rules you need to follow or you will be banished as the abject imposter you are.

1st RULE: Be True to your Word

INTJs are reliable and can be counted on to follow through on their commitments. They are effective time managers and will plan and prepare ahead of time to ensure that they are ready when deadlines arrive. Even when they agree to things that they are not thrilled about (such as social invitations) they are able to buck up and put on the semblance of sociability long enough to make good on whatever terms they agreed to. This is also partly why they make some of the best employees and professionals in any field.

2nd RULE: Do Not Be a Lemming

To an INTJ, there are no sacred cows – everything is subject to questioning, testing and experimentation. This is likely why INTJs are statistically the least religious of all the Myers Briggs types. Even though there are INTJs who do practice some form of religious faith, they are not likely to be orthodoxical hardliners or staunch in the strength of their conviction. INTJs are big proponents of thinking for yourself and they do not subscribe to anything simply because they are told they should. They are resistant to peer pressure and will stick to their guns until presented with cogent evidence and sound reasoning. That said, INTJs are not gullible or easily swayed because they are excellent critical thinkers.

3rd RULE: Know Your Shit

Whatever path they take professionally, INTJs pride themselves on the level of expertise and knowledge they acquire surrounding a subject. INTJs are not comfortable with ignorance and will do whatever necessary to equip themselves with the information and skills they need to perform their jobs exceedingly well and contend with whatever challenges they may encounter along the way.Competence and efficiency is very important to them and it is one of the few things that will earn their respect.

4th RULE: Do Not Gossip

Keeping up with the Jones’ is not what INTJs do and superficial subject matter, in general, holds little interest for them. They do not want to hear about the banal arbitrary details of other people’s lives. INTJs can hardly understand why people consume vapid tabloid fodder that has no significance in the grand scheme of existence. There are too many substantial, productive and meaningful things in the world to focus on and nobody knows that better than an INTJ.

5th RULE: Be Heavily Self-Reliant

As stated earlier, competency is very important to the INTJ and they prefer to have as much autonomy as possible. Anything they can do themselves they will do because they are loathe to seek assistance from people. They simply like feeling control over their lives and circumstances and would like to think that they could independently resolve any issue or problem they are confronted with if they absolutely had to. They know that doing everything themselves is not always the most efficient option or best use of their time, but they embrace the challenge as a means of expanding the range of their abilities.

6th RULE: Exude An Aura of Superiority

INTJs carry a detached, aloof attitude that may signify to others that they are snobs or arrogant in some way. This may or may not be true, but in any case, this anti-social demeanor is a part of the INTJ persona. INTJs generally have little to no interest in frivolous mingling but how people perceive or interpret this is their business, INTJs, however, are highly judgemental and consequently may be very disapproving of much of what they observe about human behavior. They will naturally distance themselves from this and people will inevitably form all sorts conclusions which contribute to the panoply of misunderstandings INTJs have to contend with.

7th RULE: Use Sarcasm Like A Weapon

INTJs have a black belt in sarcasm and they use it to swat away stupid remarks as though they were obnoxious fruit flies. INTJs use a very dry and subtle form of sarcasm that often swims under the radar of other people. They have been known to do this to amuse themselves; seeing how much they can insult someone without their noticing. When the INTJ is really irritated however they may employ a more a scathing version of this meant to inflict damage and make their disdain blatantly obvious.

8th RULE: Intimidate Others With Your Eyes

INTJs have a thinking face that is often mistaken as vaguely menacing. It can appear as a look of sadness, a ‘deer caught in headlights’, or a stone cold killer pondering a sick violent fantasy. It is referred as the ‘death stare’ and they are often unaware of this expression when it adorns their face. The effect it has can unsettle and concern others but INTJs can use this to their advantage against adversaries. No INTJ would be complete without this stern expression and it adds to their mystique as a brooding deep thinking mastermind.