Dearest Skillshare Gang! Howdy. I wanted to share with you a few unedited chapters from my upcoming book, "Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life." This article is called, "The Things That Made You Weird as a Kid Make You Great Today"

When I was a kid, I was full of wordplay and jokes. I loved to sing loudly and poorly. My best talent was entertaining my 5th-grade friends by drawing naked ladies. They looked more like lumpy potatoes, but nobody cared. Unfortunately, my level of energy and enthusiasm lacked appreciation at home or school.

I was called 'creative'--- and it was not a compliment.

As kids we're all weird, we have our interests and activities, and we like to run them full throttle. As we get older, we realize there’s a price to being different or standing out, so we shrink from our weirdness in fear of anyone finding out who we really are.

Being weird, or different— even creative— shouldn't be a source of shame or embarrassment but a torch to be held high. Weird is about the courage to be who you were born to be, nerdy, goofy, fidgety-- these are strengths. These are GIFTS! The things that made you weird as a kid are the source of your character and creative powers. It's best of who we are. Not perfect. Not trying—just yourself. If we hide them, we run the risk of never knowing what we're capable of.

Professionally, weird is a benefit. For some fields, it's a damn prerequisite. Any interview with a “successful” actor, chef, musician, athlete or comedian when asked what attributed to their success will answer, "When I was a kid...". Pop-culture icon and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, remembers as a child he looked up into the night sky and thought, “The Universe called me.”

When you accept your weirdness and believe in your gifts—is when things get really weird. That’s when your cause inspires others. You create the potential for shared humanity and allow others to see their struggle reflected in yours. That’s when you find those people who accept you precisely because you’re weird and different. Ultimately you'll hear that glorious refrain; “Oh, you’re weird, too? I thought I was the only one!”

This is how we form relationships and businesses. This is how you find your audience.

The things that made you weird as a kid, make you great today. We don’t do it for the reward or the success but for our freedom and to light the way for others. Accept it, you’re weird.

Cheers, James

James Victore

Author, Designer, Activist, Artist

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