Crazy Alternative
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Being different is scary. Being different is hard. Being different is one of the best things you can ever do.
When I was young, fitting in was often the last thing I cared about. I generally had one or more passions that I pursued ad nausem and never really noticed that others were watching.
You hear a lot about how you are unique and you should be proud of your individuality, but you rarely hear about how much you have in common with other people.
For example, if you go up and give a speech and are scared out of your wits, did you know that just about every person in the room is sympathizing with you? Everybody there knows the feeling of getting up there in front of everybody and forgetting everything you had planned. That's right; they're not so much different after all.
Everybody else is just as scared as you are.
I have a friend who is probably the most successful man I know. He's friends with everybody, lives in a huge house, has a beautiful wife, is respected by everyone and makes enough money to have the option to retire any time he wants. Is such success within reach? I know when I was younger, my imagination of heaven wasn't too far away from what he has on Earth. As far as I could tell, such attainment is possible, yes, but very difficult; the absolute highest.
Until he told me a secret.
He was giving me advice on who to marry and referred to his own wife as an example. He said that's the kind of girl you need to go after. And then he said, "But you know? I never would have had the courage to ask her out."
That's where being different comes in. Being different is something I've spend a lot of energy on. In fact, I have some friends who share the term "crazy alternative" with me. Is being different so hard? No. All you have to do is listen to better music, dress better, have the courage to ask out that perfect girl and go after your dreams.
Think of things this way: everything on this world has a purpose. You have a purpose and the world has a purpose. Your purpose is to conquer the world and the world's purpose is to be conquered by you. That's a pretty big task; you'd better get started right away. Like, right now. Go and do it.
Chris Guillebeau, the writer behind the Art of Nonconformity, recently released a free ebook entitled "A Brief Guide to World Domination," available here. If you have the chance to read it, please do so; it will inspire you to go above and beyond. I also suggest reading around the rest of his blog, as the material he writes is certainly top-notch and helpful to just about anybody.
That's an opportunity. Now go and do it!
When I was young, fitting in was often the last thing I cared about. I generally had one or more passions that I pursued ad nausem and never really noticed that others were watching.
You hear a lot about how you are unique and you should be proud of your individuality, but you rarely hear about how much you have in common with other people.
For example, if you go up and give a speech and are scared out of your wits, did you know that just about every person in the room is sympathizing with you? Everybody there knows the feeling of getting up there in front of everybody and forgetting everything you had planned. That's right; they're not so much different after all.
Everybody else is just as scared as you are.
I have a friend who is probably the most successful man I know. He's friends with everybody, lives in a huge house, has a beautiful wife, is respected by everyone and makes enough money to have the option to retire any time he wants. Is such success within reach? I know when I was younger, my imagination of heaven wasn't too far away from what he has on Earth. As far as I could tell, such attainment is possible, yes, but very difficult; the absolute highest.
Until he told me a secret.
He was giving me advice on who to marry and referred to his own wife as an example. He said that's the kind of girl you need to go after. And then he said, "But you know? I never would have had the courage to ask her out."
That's where being different comes in. Being different is something I've spend a lot of energy on. In fact, I have some friends who share the term "crazy alternative" with me. Is being different so hard? No. All you have to do is listen to better music, dress better, have the courage to ask out that perfect girl and go after your dreams.
Think of things this way: everything on this world has a purpose. You have a purpose and the world has a purpose. Your purpose is to conquer the world and the world's purpose is to be conquered by you. That's a pretty big task; you'd better get started right away. Like, right now. Go and do it.
Chris Guillebeau, the writer behind the Art of Nonconformity, recently released a free ebook entitled "A Brief Guide to World Domination," available here. If you have the chance to read it, please do so; it will inspire you to go above and beyond. I also suggest reading around the rest of his blog, as the material he writes is certainly top-notch and helpful to just about anybody.
That's an opportunity. Now go and do it!
Labels: Action, Courage, Individuality, Personal Development
