You’re Not Crazy; You’re Just First.

One of my favourite compliments to hear is, “You are Crazy”. Most of the time, the complimenters don’t say it as a compliment, but I know I am not crazy; I am just dancing to a different beat. Most of the time, when people call another person crazy, it is probably because the other individual’s action is beyond the field of their imagination. For example, I ran nine full marathons and two half-marathons last year. Most people I share that adventure with usually say or look at me like, “You are Crazy.” Some even think I am lying, while some might think it is a brag. I share the adventure not because I want to brag but because I usually like being doubted when I tell people about my next adventure, like “Running a sub-3 hours Marathon”. I usually laugh when told I can’t do something or it will be tough like I did not know that before. I know I am not crazy because it is really not about the marathon but the individual that I am becoming.

When people call me crazy now, I only smile and say thanks for the compliment. Crazy is a compliment, as it takes chutzpah, and courage to attempt what most people consider impossible. Whenever you are trying to do or attempt anything beyond most people’s field of vision or imagination, “You are Crazy” is a favourite word of naysayers and fear projectors. When you eventually get things done, they will tell you they knew all along. I remember when I was planning to execute my ten Canadian province running challenges early last year. I was going to run four full marathons in May 2023. The craziness chants got so loud that I nearly thought they were right, but I did it anyway. As Geman philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once quipped, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.“

Nothing is impossible if you believe in something and put all you’ve got into it. There will always be naysayers and people who will call you crazy or even make you think you are wasting your time. Trust your process, believe in yourself and keep it moving.

Apple’s 1997 Here is to the crazy ones Think Different advertising campaign featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th-century personalities: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright, and Pablo Picasso. The Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day created the campaign. The Ad campaign celebrates some of the most innovative and iconic 20th-century innovators, entrepreneurs, artists and influencers who were considered crazy.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do. ¹

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

People are tremendously uncertain about how to get ahead and which decisions are right for them, their families, and their careers. People want to scale up, but they’re wiped out. They’re working so hard, but they’re just not breaking through. They are driven, but they don’t always know exactly what they want. They desire to go for their dreams, yet they’re afraid they’ll be judged crazy or fail if they try. ²

The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you.— CARL JUNG

In her recently released book, Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life, co-founder of IT Cosmetics and the first female chief executive officer of a L’Oréal brand, Jamie Kern Lima recalls how she was constantly called crazy in her twenties and how an encounter with a therapist who told her “You’re Not Crazy; You’re Just First” changed her life forever.

Jamie was called crazy all her life by people who loved her and used it as a term of endearment because they didn’t know what else to say. She believed that where she came from didn’t have to determine where she was going. She was raised to to avoid talking about hard things, to bury them deep down inside until they went away, or just to ignore that they existed at all.

“When they called me words like crazy, I told myself it just meant I was misunderstood. But I secretly wondered if they were right.”

As she began to wonder if the craziness tag was right, Jamie sought the help of a therapist. Her encounter with the therapist changed her life and outlook. She asked her therapist:

“My whole life I’ve been called crazy. Or different. Or too ambitious. Or strange. Or out there. Am I crazy?”

She replied: “No, you’re not crazy. But I’m really glad you’re here.”

She went on to explain:

When you are the first one in our peer group, family, or community to challenge the status quo, it can feel very isolating. When we’re the first or only one to feel differently, we can feel othered. When we don’t morph who we truly are to fit in and we show up authentically, it can be worrisome to others who live in a comfort zone where fitting in is the path to acceptance. When we’re the first to break the mold of our conditioned belief system, it can come with loneliness, stress, and trauma.

When we live out of alignment with who we truly are in order to fit in, we actually live divided. And that division can also come at a great expense to our mental and physical health.

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Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to the positive or negative feelings that we have about ourselves. When we believe we are good or worthy, others view us this way. Those thoughts and feelings lead to high self-esteem. When we think we are inadequate or less worthy than others, those words and feelings create low self-esteem.

One of the gifts of mindfulness is that it helps us recognize that external factors aren’t accurate measures of our self-worth. Through practice, we observe how everything changes, our thoughts, emotions, and circumstances. Mindfulness allows us to look inward and develop self-worth from within.

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance!” – Oscar Wilde.

Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Be a Team Player

In life, we all encounter situations where we could lend a hand but something is holding us back. Maybe it is nerves or fear of embarrassment, ego or something else. Whatever it is, it is valid. When you support a broader effort, you have a sense of accomplishment and a connection. Your feelings of satisfaction and joy are magnified because you get to share them with others. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your personal goals or vision.

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