Craziness, it’s just the way we like it
If you’re a bit like me you’ve probably been told you’re crazy on a lot of occasions. Sometimes it’s a bit more subtle and you’re “just” called unrealistic or a dreamer but it can even go as far as being called totally insane. From time to time you come across others who have the same thing.
The Internet is one such place, a place where you can be yourself without getting into trouble for being crazy. You might be called eccentric but most likely you’ll be a unique voice and if you start blogging you’ll be sure to gather a lot of subscribers. The benefit is Internet instantly becomes clear: there are more people like you out there. If only one in a thousand people think like you do chances are you will hardly ever meet one in real life yet set up a blog on the subject and in no time you’ve got yourself a little tribe.
The truth is out there
But is craziness really crazy? Or is it just the opinion of the way a minority thinks. It’s out of sync with the norm and so it’s somehow wrong. The truth is not always the opinion of the majority after all.
The minorities however are on the rise. Talking with fellow students or colleagues probably will get a few raised eyebrows on the subjects of personal development and lifestyle design. The four hour workweek gets some laughs and looks of disbelief, the whole idea of passive income streams is all but ignored. Ignore the crazy folk.
Talking online and blogging however you can’t deny that these topics are definitely getting more and more attention. It might just get mainstream soon and in doing so it’s going to get harder and harder to be heard. Because that’s one of the benefits of being crazy. On the one hand you don’t get listened to because you’re crazy, on the other hand you do find yourself part of a tribe that does listen. Once that tribe gets to big it’s going to be a tough job staying one of it’s leaders.
Little league
A simple example: I blog about personal development, lifestyle design, minimalism and zen. ….ever heard of Zen Habits? Illuminated Mind? and of course the blog of Tim Ferris. A small time blogger like myself couldn’t possibly compete with these huge guns in the niche. Maybe if I started a few years ago I’d be one of them but as things are we’re down here. Proof that these ideas aren’t that strange after all although when looking at real life experiences only you wouldn’t know you were sane.
The Internet offers us so much. In real life our ideas might be called crazy, we’re the only ones we know who have them. While on-line there are so many people talking about the subject that we have a tough time making ourselves heard through all the twitter and chatter.
What can we do about that one? Either way it’s hard being heard. But what if you implement the lessons from real life into blogging? Write about something that seems totally crazy on-line. After all, it’s just another environment you’re in and in that perspective no different than your real life chats with people.
- Being crazy makes you stand out;
- standing out gets you noticed;
- getting noticed gets you heard (eventually);
- getting heard lets you share your ideas.
You meet all kinds of cool people who share your ideas or at least have an interest in what you’re writing. The world is big enough to build your own group around just about any subject. If you thought of it it’s certain others think the same. Blogging is the game of finding those people.
Call me crazy, but that’s how I see the on-line world. Millions of people, and we’re all crazy in one way or the other. Don’t be ashamed, it’s the place to be to find like-minded people. Speak up about your thoughts and you will be heard. Be yourself, be crazy and enjoy talking to the other crazies.
