All my life I’ve heard the same refrain from teachers, friends, and family: “Why can’t you be . . . normal?” What they are really trying to say is, “You don’t fit in here.” Hell, I agree, I don’t “fit in.” Not only because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. I just wasn’t born that way. It’s literally impossible—barring a full frontal lobotomy—for me, or you, to behave like anyone else. There are times for a little “get-along-go-along” social lubrication, but as I see it, “fitting in” denotes a lack of character.
Humans are social creatures. We want to belong and want people to like us. It’s natural to want more friends, more customers, and more attention. But when we have to change who we are to achieve that goal, problems arise. We begin to sell off the parts that made us different or special in the first place. We lose our authenticity and our voice. People follow leaders who have something to say and who stand for something. When an individual or enterprise has nothing to say, they’re no longer leading but following.
Knowing that you don’t fit in is your first glimpse of greatness. It’s the first step toward understanding your gift and finding your creative potential. You weren’t born to fit in, ready to accommodate every relationship, every situation, every client. Don’t contort yourself to fit into a box or a square or a cubicle. The world has enough safe, bland, dull crap.
You are an artist and a genius. Don’t fit in. Don’t even try.
