Being Different

It’s BAD to be pushy, shy, loud, tattooed, outspoken, flirty, arrogant, lazy, a suck-up and opinionated.

It’s GOOD to be demure, sweet, cooperative, polite, well-read, connected and witty.

Says who? 

Nothing is really good and nothing is really bad, we just decide it is.  Then, once we give it a label, we’ve sealed the deal forever.  From then on, anyone we meet with “good” attributes is good, and, even more dangerously, everyone we meet with “bad” attributes is now, forever and unchangeably, bad in our eyes.

More importantly, we allow the labels given to us by others, change us from who we want to be. 

Labels alter the outcome. Labels cover up. Labels are rarely accurate.

No labels, just you.

The Red Button

How does this sound?

Get up every morning, drive to work, push the red button all day, drive home, eat dinner, watch TV, go to bed.  You do this every day.  You look forward to the weekend because you don’t have to push the red button. That button is boring, lifeless and mediocre.

The Red Button is the way we’ve always done things, the way we were taught.  It has served us well for many years.  It was once fun, exciting, and challenging but now it kinda sucks.   

There is another button out there with your name on it.  Go find it and look forward to Mondays again!



That is just weird

What I like about the art business is the weirdness, the boldness, and the rebellious nature of the people that create.  Many of the artists I meet are not afraid to try things that just don’t make sense. 

They get bored with the sameness and start exploring.  Being creative is a daily experience for an artist.   Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but after ten years, they have ten years of experience, not one year ten times.

What if we ran our companies that way?

Every day we would throw ideas on the whiteboard like fresh paint, not knowing what the outcome might look like.  Challenging the current state of affairs, not settling for old business models.

Asking What if? and Why not?...reinventing the company to fit with its passion, skills, and the demands of today.  

What if we ran our lives that way?

Always doing a gut check to make sure the direction we are headed is the direction of our heart.  Not settling for the sameness and outdated goals of years gone by.  Not allowing  this year to look like last year.

What if you ran your life that way?

The drawing above is your new idea, your new passion.  Some will look at it and say “stupid”, some will say, “I don’t understand”, and some will say “weird.”  Great ideas are weird and most people just can’t handle weird.

Screw em, Go create.