exceptional is a decision!

The world doesn’t change because of normal thinkers.

Dearest Gentle Reader,

There is a tragedy I see far too often. People who were born with fire in their bones end up living like smoke that never chose a direction. And this doesn’t happen because they lacked potential. I think it happens because they were too afraid of being misunderstood.

Everyone (including you and I) talks about wanting to be great, wealthy, influential, or ‘insert yours here’, but we forget that greatness is not built on approval but audacity. It is built on being willing to think differently long before anyone claps for you.

When I look back at the people who changed the world, I notice a pattern. They were rarely the most liked. They weren’t even liked at all. They were not the ones who blended in. They were not appreciated at first. They were questioned, mocked, doubted, and in some cases, hated.

Ask Engineer Noah what it felt like to build a boat in a place that had never seen rain.

Ask Shepherd David what it felt like to run at a giant with a stone while trained warriors called him naive.

Ask the Lord Jesus what it felt like to speak truth to religious power and be labeled insane.

I’m sure the people thought Noah has gone mad. David’s brothers thought he was crazy. Jesus was called demon-possessed because He was daring. Apparently, the world calls you crazy until it needs what you have.

We are all born with a spark, but only a few choose to breathe life into the flame. Most settle for being safe because safe is comfortable. Others settle for normal because normal is not laughed at. But, if you look through the timeline of history, you’d see that safe and normal never changed anything.

Some of the most exceptional people you admire today were once whispered about in corners. Ask Galileo Galilei. He was questioned and misunderstood because he made choices that looked foolish to everyone else. But did he quit and burried his dream? Nope! He kept going!

You have that same potential.

I like to believe no one was designed for average. We were not created to merely function and disappear. That quiet stirring of strange ideas that will not leave you alone in your heart is your evidence. That dream that feels too big for your environment is proof you too can do hard, unheard-of things.

You do not need everyone to understand your vision. You only need to heed to your heart’s pull by acting on it. You know what? If you don’t someone somewhere will!

I thought to add this: God did not create you to be a photocopy. You were hand-crafted to reveal His brilliance in a way the world has never seen before.

So think differently. Move differently. Pray differently. Create differently.

And if the world call you crazy, smile. It may be the highest compliment you ever receive. Check history, and you’d see that it’s only ever kind to those who were first ridiculed.

— Jaachịmmá Anyatọnwụ
The Bard Influencer