Shimmy to Your Own Beat, Babe ♛

19 June, 2015

Lots of brilliant people think they're screwed up. Okay, let's take a second to digest that properly... Millions of brilliant, creative, talented people in this world with gifts highly exceeding the norm see themselves as worthless, inattentive, and useless.

"What exactly are ya talkin' about, Paige?" Well, since you ask ;) ... growing up, we're all taught to be and act a certain way. Listening to the teacher, learning to properly read and write, sitting still when we're told, following accurate direction... children are forced to squeeze their creativity into a small box.

Now, I'm not bashing the education system or our nation's teachers. I actually would love to be a teacher one day. But, because of those strict boundaries from childhood, many grown adults don't uncover their true passions for fear of becoming a social outcast. They're nervous to swim upstream while everyone else swims downstream. They shiver at the thought of dancing to a different beat and facing criticism or exclusion.

To excel at something, one must deviate from the crowd and do things normal people do not do. Michael Jordan played 5 hours of basketball a day. Normal people don't do that. Eminem sat through middle and high school scribbling rhymes to every word he could think of in over 100 notebooks. Normal people don't do that. Justin Beiber used to sing for tips on the side of the street as an 11 year old kid. Normal people don't do that.

All three deviated from the norm, doing things normal people do not even desire to do. At the time, it made them a little weird, a little different. But that's exactly what gave them an edge.

Let's look at another example, Jimmy Kimmel of the Tonight Show. I'm personally a huge fan of Kimmel, not because I watch his show often but because of his mean tweets youtube channel, hilarious. Kimmel wasn't the best student as a youngster, often getting in trouble in class for, you guessed it, joking around. Instead of quenching his light, he decided to shine even brighter, strengthening his comedic nature and becoming a professional jokester. He even decided to bring it up while hosting the Presidential dinner. Boom.

Instead of trying to fit in, one should rather try to become the right fit. The right fit, meaning, who we are deep at our core. Instead of tirelessly trying to change, we should instead embrace our uniqeness and become more of the wacky, lame, hilarious, joyful, go-big-or-go-home humans we were all created to be.

The world likes to tell us we need to have A, B, and C to be presentable and successful. But if you ask me (and God, in my opinion) that's a bunch of nonsense. What's so fun about being a clone? Here's some examples to drive the point home:

Example Uno: In the United Kingdom, a study was done that measured the percentage of millionaires with dyslexia. To their surprise, 50% of millionares in the UK had dyslexia, while only 10% of the general population was dyslexic. What that means is the people with dyslexia, instead of getting down on themselves for their struggles to read and write, used their disadvantage and turned it into an advantage by inventing new products or starting companies. What the world see's as a hinderance can actually boost productivity and success.

Example Dos: A company called Specialisterne creates computer software, and the CEO had a son that was autistic. Autustic people are known for getting deeply, deeply focused on specific projects and for doing things over and over again. The doctors of the mans son wanted to steer him away from his obsessive behavior, but the man saw beauty instead of brokenness. He gave his son a job as a software tester, and it was a perfect fit because deep concentration and redundancy are the keys to that job description. Today, Specialisterne hires thousands of autistic people as software mechanics.

Example Tres: The leaning tower of Pisa, a European destination many of us are familiar with, was built with an incorrect foundation leading to a crooked architectural framework. In the 1930's, Mussolini saw the tower as a sign of Italy's weakness and ordered for it's straightening. The architects couldn't complete the job without damaging the building, so it's still leaning today. Take a glance at the picture of me at the tower and notice the beautiful structure on the left. That is a massive cathedral built perfectly, yet no one travels to Pisa to see that building. They come for the tower because it's different, it's tilted, it's unique.

So, how are you tilted? What has the world tried to "straighten out" in your life? Is it your dedication to a sport? The way you dress? The locations you travel?

Is it your faith in God? How often you read your Bible? Posting Bible verses on Facebook?

The way you laugh? The way you dance? The music you jam to?

My favorite story in the whole Bible is the story of David. A young, small shepherd boy, David visited the camp of a major battle scene because his father instructed him to bring some food to his older brothers, trained soldiers on the battle line. The entire camp was distraught over not being able to kill Goliath, the prized fighter and leader of the opposing team. Little David, on a whim, decides to take his wooden slingshot, without any armor or backup, and use a tiny stone to sling at Goliath, of whom was laughing hysterically at baby David. Lonebehold, the stone hit Goliath right between the eyes, and David skipped up to the unconscious Goliath and killed him with his own sword.

None of the trained warriors could kill Goliath, but yet a small shepherd boy used what others saw as a measly toy to defeat the enemy. Are people laughing at you for trying something different? Are armored, trained soldiers shaking their heads as you practice shooting your slingshot?

Be you, honey. Be the very best, over-the-top, extra chocolate-sprinkles you only you can be! Ignore the world's jealousy. Instead, wave to them as they all march in place. Paint bright colors, sing funny songs, skip instead of walk, say yes instead of no, and be YOU. Be confident in your uniqueness, it's contagious and you'll be respected for it.

What are you waiting for? The world is yours, babydoll.