Re-post from Forbes
Written by Jessica Hagy
Weird is wonderful. And it’s bankable too.
You know who’s weird? Astronauts. Saints. Nobel Prize winners. Scientists. People with hobbies you’ve never heard of or are afraid to try. People who speak their minds. People with both problems and (gasp) solutions. People who are (enviably) not like you. Being weird means being noticeably different. It means being or doing something that makes other people stare, or laugh, applaud, or boo. And it’s something we all need to cultivate.
Your weirdness is valuable. Here’s why:
Written by Jessica Hagy
Weird is wonderful. And it’s bankable too.
You know who’s weird? Astronauts. Saints. Nobel Prize winners. Scientists. People with hobbies you’ve never heard of or are afraid to try. People who speak their minds. People with both problems and (gasp) solutions. People who are (enviably) not like you. Being weird means being noticeably different. It means being or doing something that makes other people stare, or laugh, applaud, or boo. And it’s something we all need to cultivate.
Weird has less competition.Weirdness, by its very definition, is a deviation from the norm—the opposite of a commodity. Weird makes its own markets. Weirdness makes its own rules. Weirdness provides breathing room and leverage.
Weird is less painful.
To fit inside the cookie cutter, you have to lob off a part of yourself. It hurts less to just be authentic. Stop exhausting yourself pretending to be someone or something you’re not.
To fit inside the cookie cutter, you have to lob off a part of yourself. It hurts less to just be authentic. Stop exhausting yourself pretending to be someone or something you’re not.
Weird is less painful.
To fit inside the cookie cutter, you have to lob off a part of yourself. It hurts less to just be authentic. Stop exhausting yourself pretending to be someone or something you’re not.
Weirdness creates automatic notoriety.Whatever is most unique about you will become your defining trait. This is how we end up with nicknames and calling cards. And when your calling card is actually special, it’s easy for others to remember you. Wouldn’t you rather be “Amy with the trapeze company” than “Amy with a Y”?
To fit inside the cookie cutter, you have to lob off a part of yourself. It hurts less to just be authentic. Stop exhausting yourself pretending to be someone or something you’re not.
Weirdness creates automatic notoriety.Whatever is most unique about you will become your defining trait. This is how we end up with nicknames and calling cards. And when your calling card is actually special, it’s easy for others to remember you. Wouldn’t you rather be “Amy with the trapeze company” than “Amy with a Y”?
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Let's celebrate weirdness.
Especially posted for my former colleague, Sir Deo, who said I am weird. =)
Twice.
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