I encourage you to invest in yourself and your weirdness because my aim is to help everyone become the best version of themselves. To be the best version of yourself, you have to take pride in the seemingly odd things that set you apart from others.
You must understand something. In order for you to become valuable in the marketplace, in the community, and to yourself, you have to become more. You have to learn to change and become better. I sincerely believe that the process of becoming better starts with you accepting the things that make you weird. The movies you watch, the songs you listen to, your heroes, role models, people you’ve met, the books you’ve read, the experiences you’ve had, and the places you’ve been. These factors play a huge role in forming our beliefs, character, and taste which inevitably influences our work. Making us different, unique, and a little bit weirder than the next person.
“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. If you f — ing like something, like it.”
— Dave Grohl
And that is exactly what you want. Being different, unique, and weirder than the next person is a significant advantage. It means you have something to offer that the next person can’t. The things you like shouldn’t be hidden away or suppressed, they should be celebrated and encouraged. Do not give in to the pressure of conformity and do not let anyone make you feel guilty for taking pleasure in the things you genuinely enjoy.
“We all love things that other people think are garbage. You have to have the courage to keep loving your garbage, because what makes us unique is the diversity and breadth of our influences, the unique ways in which we mix up the parts of culture others have deemed ‘high’ and the ‘low’.”
— Austin Kleon, Show Your Work
Once you have the courage to own up to your tastes and influences, the next step is to nurture them. To find a way to mix pleasure with business (yes you read that correctly, you can mix pleasure with business). It is very simple; you cannot become the best version of yourself if you are not being authentic. When you’re not being authentic, you are probably releasing work into the world that has already been seen. Which to be honest won’t do you much good. The route to making more money in the same amount of time is becoming more valuable. You become more valuable when you can release authentic work. Therefore, become obsessed with doing more for people in the weirdest and in the quickest time, than anyone else.
“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your work.”
— Tony Robbins, Money Master the Game
Love what you love, like what you like, be as weird as you can, and take full pleasure in it. Release work into the world that is authentic, weird, honest, and open, that is how you resonate with those who like what you like. Doing more for people in the weirdest way possible is how you become valuable. That is how you invest in yourself and your weirdness and eventually create invaluable work and businesses.
