“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living – Nelson Mandela

Okay, so I imagine that quite a few of you are wondering why in the world you would ever want to be a freak. First of all, how about we define precisely what I mean when I say you should be a freak. It’s really very simple: just think of anyone you’ve ever heard of. Anyone at all.

For example, when Michael Jordan was in high school, he would get way early each morning and spend hours every day working on just the basics, the fundamentals. People called him a freak, people said he was weird. Now people call him the greatest ever.

Now, that is one freak! If you think about it, a freak is someone, anyone, who is different from what is normal. A freak is someone who puts so much passion into what they do that they transcend normality. Think of freaks you’ve known yourself. People who have put more into what they do; people who have gone above and beyond what was necessary. Anyone who has achieved more than what is usual among the boring hordes of normality.

Tim Ferriss works fewer hours in a week than most people do in a day and yet probably makes more money. He lives everywhere and enjoys it better than just about anyone. I’m planning to join him, but it’ll have to wait until after my mission unless I can think of some way to work zero hours in two years. That’d be pretty cool, but I wonder how to set it up…

More on being weird, Robin Sharma has a podcast entitled “Only the Weird Win” and I highly suggest you listen to it. As well as the rest of his podcasts; they’re all really good.

Besides, being weird is one of the best things you can possibly be. Somewhere, I remember reading some advice that you should always establish yourself as weird, but in a good way. The example given was about an internship, in which the new intern would arrive earlier than everyone else and stay later than everyone else. Not only that, but he would manage to perform a recordable activity (such as emailing a memo) at some absurd time (such as three in the morning). He was soon considered weird, but in a good way.

I’ve got an idea bouncing around in my head that’s probably both the hardest and the best thing I could ever possibly do. The hardest part is that I’m going to seriously regret not trying it if I don’t and also regret failing it if I do. It’s an idea that Brian Johnson would be greatly proud of me for trying. It’d also be totally worth it, even if it shatters into little pieces. What is it? I’m going to be perfect!