Original

Uncomfortable Is Original

Uncomfortable Is Original

Garth Beyer

Banana Comfort, Weird Is Good

Many blogs, many books, many talks are very, very unoriginal. The reason being is they are safe, they are familiar. Ever heard someone say every business book says the same thing, but in a different way? I’ve read enough of them that I would even push back on the “different way” part of the statement. I think all the writing was rushed.

Taking time

It is amazing how well one can write when one takes the time. Think about it. When rushed to write, you use and accept your clichés. Perfect example: journalism. The tight deadlines encourage the use of clichés, of simplification, of uniformity.

When you take time while writing, you find ways to say things better than a cliché can. If you decide to use a cliché, you at least spin it on its head and make it breakdance.

To craft something original…well, it’s scary, it’s uncomfortable, and it takes time.

When you write something original. It’s weird to leave it as it is. You want to change it for fear no one will understand it or like it. It sounds weird in your head reading it over because you’ve never read anything like it before. Orange frizzled daiquiri wedding cake looked sexier than a toucan during mating season. Wasn’t reading that fun? New? An adventure? I wrote it and it feels so weird keeping it.

Alas.

Weird is original and relatable.

The thing about weird I love so much is it will never go out of style. The world will always contain compartmentalists, always produce naysayers, always attract keepers of the status quo — those who are satisfied with the comfort of everything unoriginal. There will always be those resistant to new things and those who fear anything other than what is routine, common, and banal. Yet! There are and always will be those who love and connect with the weird.

Even in light of it all, I still say do what has never been done before. Word the sentence the way you’ve never read anyone word it. If you question whether anyone will like your writing, if you think it’s too far out there, then it’s complete. Ship it. The people who matter in this world (at least who matter to you, to your art) are out there. Wayyy out there. (Think Long Tail)

Build it and they might not come. Build it weird and more will arrive than you ever expected. The freaks shall inherit the earth.

As a dear PR-wonderwoman-friend-of-mine said, “Weird is in. Weird is good. Weird is awesome. Weird is essential. Weird is where the magic is.”

 

Stay Positive & Go Bananas

Photo credit

p.s. this goes for more than just writing

Creativity, Changing The World And Being Original

Garth Beyer

It’s true we feel that in order to make any change in the world, any real impact, any worthwhile improvement that we have to be original.

We can’t change the world in a massive way by donating $5, volunteering 20 minutes of our time or inventing an imitation drink of Pepsi and Cola.

Naturally, deep down, we want the next big thing and anything less than that we want nothing to do with.

We use the fact that we’re in this huge technological and inventive revolution that we have to create something completely original to make an influential ruckus in it. In other words, we can’t be part of the revolution if we aren’t original in our work.

That’s all good but so many forget how to be original. They don’t know what original means.

You must understand that the more experiences and perceptions of the world you have, the more original you become.

See here,

You have to be a part of everything to be different, to be original. It’s the greatest paradox of creativity and ingenuity.

In other words, originality is alchemy of life. It’s about combing different things, thoughts, perceptions, experiences, etc., together to create something original.

Only in that originality can you change the world.

After all, something can’t come out of nothing, yet that’s what so many think “original” is.

 

Stay Positive & Go Change The World

Garth E. Beyer

A guru once asked me to think a thought that no one has ever thought before. If there is anything that is impossible, it’s this false definition of originality.

Doing What You Think People Will Frown Upon

Garth Beyer

It was awhile ago when I raised my hand in my Poetry 101 class and asked if we could bring in our own work and read it to the class for extra credit. (Weird that was something I had to ask isn’t it?) The teacher hesitantly agreed only after the class followed suit in making quite the ruckus for approval. The day came and I risked going up to the podium and reading a love poem I had written – but this isn’t about me. It’s about someone else who got up and took a much larger risk than ridicule.

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The whole class was smiling, laughing and as I remember it, a few people stood up giving a standing ovation to the girl who did what you may think people would have frowned upon. Now, I never curse or swear on this website (though I may let some words slip in life), let it be known that I am merely going to pick out words that were in this young lady’s poem.

Imagine the following words put into one of the most heart wrenching and fluent poetry you have ever heard: “fu#k”, “w@ore”, “s%it”, “c*nt”, “b^tch” and a few others.

The reaction of ecstatic approval from the classroom made me think how happy it makes people to hear and see other people do what most would frown upon. This lady didn’t risk ridicule, she risked isolation, she risked the repercussions of fighting back the status-quo and following her intuition and heart.

To my surprise, she was congratulated for an epic non-standard performance and begged to share more of her poetry. She sat down with the largest grin on her face, larger than a silver Waning Crescent of a moon turned sideways.

 

Stay Positive & Fight To Be Frowned Upon (You’ll Be Surprised)

Garth E. Beyer