We Are All Weird, hopefully.

If you haven’t read it yet, you should – “We Are All Weird” by Seth Godin.

“I’m still sort of amazed at how deeply ingrained our antipathy to this word is. It makes audiences a little nervous when I talk about the death of normal and the rise of weird. And it makes many people uncomfortable to describe their habits as a bit weird.

The thing is, though, that the only prospects you care about, the only people you have a shot of reaching, the only people who are going to use your service or join your tribe are weird. And everyone is weird, at least sometimes.

Twenty five percent of the population is a landslide in most modern elections. You don’t need everyone to vote for you, just the weird people who care.”

I love this philosophy, and I strongly believe it.  If I didn’t…Snoloha would not exist as it is today.  I would have dummied it down a long time ago.  After all, as one consultant told me “you gotta get out of your own way“.  Ah yes, the advice / critique of others.  I like how Steve Jobs put it once to a blogger, “Do you create anything, or just criticize others’ work and belittle their motivations?”

I’m in the process of this Snoloha evolution from just a ‘t-shirt’ brand, which I’ve always wanted it to be more than.  Starting a t-shirt company is pretty easy.  Anyone can have some artwork printed on a blank shirt and make a few bucks doing it.  But building a viable longterm brand is an entirely different story.  Putting in the work and energy to build something that will last long after you are gone…that’s what I’m talking about.  Something weird.  Something for those weirdos who love it too.  And I love my weird fans and customers.

I’ve been spending time with Dr. Seuss, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney and Jimmy Buffett.  They are all weird.  If they were ‘normal’ or ‘average’…would we know their names?  Easy answer.

For me, the easy part is the longterm vision.  The hard part is staying focused on the small steps to get there.

The next step?  I’m working on it.

In the meantime…read some Dr. Seuss and embrace your weirdness.