I'm drawn to innovators. The people of the world that I look up to, didn't go the generic route. In fact, they had to make the conscious decision to refuse to go the generic route. Trailblazers. Iconoclasts. The beings that recognize the sheepish route, and dip out the back of the herd. The people who don't play by the rules, but recreate them. The Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerbergs, Oprah Winfreys, Seth Godins, Kanye Wests, Malcom Gladwells, Jay-Zs...artists in their own rite, but innovators to the world we know.
I am cut from this mold. I fit among these names. Nomadness is described with the same adjectives. I am merely where they were, when they started to pick up steam-- when their immediate community began to take notice. When sh*t started to get all the way real. When grass was cut and snakes scattered like roaches. When the Universe has to start ushering people in, and filtering people out, the process gets messy. Super messy.
I said to my friend the other day, 'I don't think famous people get paid millions for what they do. I think it's collateral for all they have to put up with in order to still effectively do what they do, at the level of fame."
I cannot, and will not, front, the last few weeks have kicked my ass and lifted me higher than ever before at the same time. The pendulum has shifted, swiftly, daily, from one said of the spectrum to the other-- to the point where in a matter of hours I've gone from elation to depression at the epicness greatness, and epic fails, that have presented themselves... daily. In this space I thought, 'This is why they get paid the way they do. Who needs this sh*t?"
I need it. Innovators need it. Iconoclasts need it. It is our fuel for hunger, and our survival. We don't fear, instead thrive off change. We need to break down walls, question authority, and make our own way...then show the way to others and be their leaders. Our tribes need us to be this individual. They need us to rise to the occassion of fame, and be the trusted one to represent them well when the bullsh*t hits the fan. As an innovator, you are the first in line of fire AND the clean up crew.
I am getting used to how my life is changing, evolving, augmenting, manifesting and it's very stressful. But very necessary. I am tougher than even I thought I was, and when I'm weak, I pull from those who had to ride this road before me. The chose few, that the Universe has annointed to strike a nerve with status quo, and just go! You don't need to be a physical fighter, but hell if you don't have the mental capacity to house all that is thrown your way, you'll psychologically die.
To anyone who once was in this position, is currently in this position, or are the next generation of innovators, I am here to tell you, sometimes it f&*king sucks and you want the big red button to make it stop. It will not stop, and you CANNOT stop!It is your duty and responsibility while on this Earth, to help change it.
Even when in tears, feeling victimized, consulting with your elders and mentors, under attack, mimicked, chastized, misunderstood, mistated, and needing to show face for all those following you, never ever forget:
You were built for this shit.
Here are words from your forefathers:
"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things." - Steve Jobs (Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference, 1997)
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Steve Jobs ("The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs," 2001)
"It's easy to say that entrepreneurs will create jobs and big companies will create unemployment, but this is simplistic. The real question is who will innovate."
Guy Kawasaki
“Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success
"When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts."
Larry Ellison
"Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?"
Kanye West
