Just like in that famous song, I was born in the USSR. 

Yup… I am THAT old and yup… that country no longer exists. 

The Soviet culture had strong imprint in many people’s mentality and lifestyle. If you were born in those years too but in any capitalistic country, then I am sure you think that things back in the Soviet Union were way worse than they were. To be fair that is exactly what we thought about your country too…

But that is not what I was going to write about. 

Among many different memories from my childhood I remember what I disliked most… standardization. We all were raised to think alike, to behave alike and to look alike. There were very few choices and we all could do nothing but chose among that scarce variety only. 

Well, USSR was extreme case… but even later, when I ended up living in different countries, I realized that the whole concept was very similar, simply the scale was different. 

And that brings me to the main topic of today – the “weirdo”s and misfits.

No matter where one lives being different is not always easy. One ends up bumping into walls of misunderstanding, the feeling of not being appreciated and the backlash of criticism. One is considered to be “crazy”, “a creep”, “a weirdo”, etc…

Even my mum, who I know loves me, in many different occasions described me as “very original”. In reality she did mean crazy, but since she’s always been very “politically correct” that’s how she phrased it. And to be honest I wasn’t even THAT different… simply I did not look at life the way others around me did. My only issue was: I did voice my opinion and it was not a popular one… that’s all.

And although I myself have never been extremely differ or as mum put it “original”, I always admired those who were. To me all those “misfits”, “creeps” and “werdo-s” were extraordinary. They always intrigued me. They were the ones who have chosen “the road less travelled by and that by itself made me envy their courage.

If one does things the way things have always been done one will get the same outcomes as always. If we keep doing things as they have been made just because that is the “right” way – we will never come up with different and in most cases better ways. 

Do you think innovation and creative ideas can come from ordinary and common people? 

Yes? 

Then think again!

This is the ode to all who’re questioning the society norms and challenging the status quo. The ones, who are not afraid to be themselves and tap into their superpower. Their superpower of weirdness that many perceive as weakness… To all those who prefer to make their own path and not to drive the highway…

People obsessed with their ideas and dreams… 

To all those who change our world one step at a time, one dream at a time, one idea at a time…

Cheers to misfits and all those crazy ones, who think they can change the world.

Today I wanna talk about something that crossed my mind a few times yesterday. I mean if you have similar thoughts a few times a day provoked by completely different things, it’s worth writing about, right?

These days everything rotates around the World Cup so the initial thoughts came from football… after the Croatia vs England match. Since London was the place where I finally was able to find myself and feel happy there was no question about who I rooted for… and we lost. But that’s irrelevant at this point. 

After the match, I watched a very short interview with Modric. He mentioned English journalists and said 

they underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake

I realised that not only English journalists underestimated them. They had so many doubters… so many people who were sure they would lose. Now for the finals, it’s the same… almost everyone believes France will crash them…

How many times you’ve been in Croatia’s place? How many times people who were around you did not believe in you? How many times they were certain you would not make it? How many times they were hoping that you would not make it, so they could turn to you and say “I told you so…”? 

And what do you do then?…

All of the above thoughts led me to recall the flea experiment. Have you heard of it?

For those who haven’t let me tell about it.

So scientists placed a number of fleas in a glass jar. Obviously they jumped out of it… So scientists placed a glass lid over the top. Fleas kept hitting the glass and falling back to the bottom of the jar. It took a while, but eventually, the fleas, conditioned to the presence of the glass lid, began jumping slightly below the glass lid so they would not hit it. That is when the scientists removed the glass lid…

Do you know what happened?

The fleas had learned to limit themselves from jumping beyond the height of the lid. So now even when the lid was removed they still believed they could not escape from the jar and kept jumping just below where the glass lid was before. 

Here look:

That’s all it takes… and unfortunately the same happens with people. We tend to believe the limitations others artificially impose on us.

Often we are told that we can’t make it because 

“no one was able to do it before”

Complete bullshit!

As Mandela once told

It always seems impossible until it’s done

And when it’s done… there’s someone who did it first, right? 

Usually, those first people are those who did not lower the hight to jump at even when the glass lid was on. The first people are those who don’t look for people to believe in them in order to try. They try and fail… and then learn how to do it better and try again… and fail again probably. But they don’t give up and they don’t care if all the others around them have either discouraged them or tried too and gave up. 

Because after all that matters is not who believes in you but what YOU believe in. If you believe that you can do it then most probably you really can.

After all, it took Edison 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. 

But guess what? The 1001th bulb was the one that changed the world.

And when it happens, when you get where you wanted to be, when your goal is no longer an impossible dream and when you make the impossible real you will look back at all those with the limited believes and be the one this time who’ll say “I told you so!”

So I don’t care if France plays better and I don’t care what others think Croatia’s chances are… I will be rooting for the later tomorrow!

As for you… don’t set limits – especially don’t let others set them for you!

Since a very young age, we are told what to do. Parents dictate or in the best case share their life values and views with their children. The schoolteachers tell about what’s “right” and what’s “wrong”. The society, in its turn, imposes its own mentality. You were told what to think and how to live.  

While you are still young, you don’t really care. You don’t pay attention to the fact that what you are taught stays deep in your subconscious and influences most of your decisions and actions. 

 
At some point in your life, you start realizing. Starting from that point you spend years to un-learn most of the things you were taught. Maybe those things were valid ages ago, but not anymore. Now they only one that stands between your success and you, between your dreams and you and sometimes even between your real self and you are… YOU. 

I recalled the things I’ve been told many times. So many that I even believed them…   
But not anymore… Now I know that the ones who told me that are the disillusioned ones, not me.  

You have to study well to get a good job

 I presume that the statement is based on the assumption that studying well and being smart is the same thing; which is NOT. Besides that, let’s think of our x bosses. How many are smarter than you? How many are smart at all? Yup…   

You have to be modest 

Maybe western countries were different, but in the x Soviet Union, everyone was supposed to be modest. You were supposed to wait until others told good things about you. The times have changed. In these days of shameless self-promotion and fierce competition being modest, you risk being invisible altogether. 

You have to seek stability 

Stability is mainly a positive thing according to many. Stable marriage, stable career, stable income… Changes are bad… changes are risky… changes bring difficulties.  
Well maybe if you want to live the same day for many years of your life then yes…  

But what about new experiences? What about the unexpected amazing things that might come your way? What about impulsive actions? Stability and progress are not compatible, are they?

 
You are not a child anymore so you have to be serious 

After 25 one is supposed to be mature and serious. You have to start building respect. You are not a child anymore…  

Really? 

Wouldn’t you wish to keep the best childish qualities with you forever? Wouldn’t you wish to be as creative as they are? Wouldn’t you like being as honest as they are? 

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could feel happy with a very small thing that happened to you? 

I personally think that if we all kept that little child inside us our society would have been much kinder, happier and nicer. 

You have to be realistic 

How many realists have created something amazing? How many realists have come up with innovative solutions? How many realists are a source of inspiration? 

Please let me know when you find one. 

You have to avoid the risk 

Sometimes your life comes to a stage, when you can’t do anything but believe, close your eyes and jump. 

Avoiding the risk is a very high risk itself most of the time. 

You risk staying mediocre all your life. You risk not reaching your full potential. And you risk fooling yourself that you are living a risk-free life.

 I have to disappoint you here – even if you do not take any single risk, if you eat healthy if you don’t smoke, if you never did drugs, if you never fly by plane if you never drive drunk or fast… even then… there are countless risks for you. 

Life itself is a risk 

Reflect back and un-learn!