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
Journaling and Challenges
Friday, June 20, 2008
If you've been following me along this journey, you'll have noticed that I frequently ask you to write in your journal or ask you to carry out a challenge. Now maybe that irks you a little. After all, how can I understand just what it is you need? And how do I know where your level of progress is currently?
Well...I don't. That's why you'll notice that every time I ask you to do something, the specifics are up to you. For example, if I ask you to do something you're afraid of, what that is is entirely up to you. Maybe you're afraid of public speaking, maybe open spaces, maybe sky diving, maybe spiders; it could be anything. In fact, by causing you to make up the details, I'm forcing you to make executive decisions. Each one is supposed to be a way for you to grow personally.
By helping you to understand through action, I'm giving you a reason to grow personally. Maybe just that little request, that homework assignment, is going to make your day. Isn't that worth something?
To have, maybe just for one day, your dreams come true?
That's what it's all about.
My last term in high school, I took a weight training class. I scored record breaking lifts for my weight category and made tremendous improvements across the board. My cardio-physical condition improved to the best it had ever been, but didn't make any difference to me. What did?
I took the class with a friend of mine. When we began, he could do fewer than twenty pushups (and without a full range of motion) and no pullups at all. My one, single goal in that class was to have him do a pullup by the end of the class. Not only did he, but he also lost a great deal of fat, put on muscle and improved his fitness level and overall physique tremendously. Was that class a success in my mind? Beyond measure.
Was it his dream to improve like that? Maybe, we never talked about it. I do know that it led to him developing an interest in keeping fit and healthy. Maybe that's his dream now, I don't know.
Personal development is not an overnight process. You're not going to found a Fortune 500 company next week, not going to date a supermodel tomorrow, not going to visit the moon for the Fourth, but you are going to improve and that's what it's all about.
As long as you stay positive and try your best (and you will; those two are much easier than they may seem), your dreams will come true, every day of your life. Maybe one day, you ask out the girl of your dreams. The next, you stand up to that jerk in Accounting who always bullies you. The next, you help an old lady across the street and she repays you with true gratitude. It's all up to you.
Whatever you're going to be doing, each event will seem like a dream coming true and that's precisely what it's supposed to be.
Well...I don't. That's why you'll notice that every time I ask you to do something, the specifics are up to you. For example, if I ask you to do something you're afraid of, what that is is entirely up to you. Maybe you're afraid of public speaking, maybe open spaces, maybe sky diving, maybe spiders; it could be anything. In fact, by causing you to make up the details, I'm forcing you to make executive decisions. Each one is supposed to be a way for you to grow personally.
By helping you to understand through action, I'm giving you a reason to grow personally. Maybe just that little request, that homework assignment, is going to make your day. Isn't that worth something?
To have, maybe just for one day, your dreams come true?
That's what it's all about.
My last term in high school, I took a weight training class. I scored record breaking lifts for my weight category and made tremendous improvements across the board. My cardio-physical condition improved to the best it had ever been, but didn't make any difference to me. What did?
I took the class with a friend of mine. When we began, he could do fewer than twenty pushups (and without a full range of motion) and no pullups at all. My one, single goal in that class was to have him do a pullup by the end of the class. Not only did he, but he also lost a great deal of fat, put on muscle and improved his fitness level and overall physique tremendously. Was that class a success in my mind? Beyond measure.
Was it his dream to improve like that? Maybe, we never talked about it. I do know that it led to him developing an interest in keeping fit and healthy. Maybe that's his dream now, I don't know.
Personal development is not an overnight process. You're not going to found a Fortune 500 company next week, not going to date a supermodel tomorrow, not going to visit the moon for the Fourth, but you are going to improve and that's what it's all about.
As long as you stay positive and try your best (and you will; those two are much easier than they may seem), your dreams will come true, every day of your life. Maybe one day, you ask out the girl of your dreams. The next, you stand up to that jerk in Accounting who always bullies you. The next, you help an old lady across the street and she repays you with true gratitude. It's all up to you.
Whatever you're going to be doing, each event will seem like a dream coming true and that's precisely what it's supposed to be.
Labels: Challenge, Dream, Journal, Personal Development
