PP 128: Show Up & Be Your Truest, Weirdest Self—the Weirder the Better
I grew up under the impression that being weird was a bad thing. Being weird got you picked on and bullied. Being normal is what helped you fit in.
I was definitely a weirdo growing up. Getting severely bullied made it hard for me to express myself as I got older.
Popularity and acceptance are what I craved, so I did everything in my power to "blend in" with the cool crowd.
It's funny how the theme has changed now that we're creative adults.
We're told not to lose that child-like imagination.
We're told being weird is a good thing and that showcasing your uniqueness is how you'll stand out.
Back in episode 81, I gave you 3 Super Convincing Reasons to Show Your Weird and Wave Your Freak Flag.
That episode was more of a permission slip for me to dig deep on the weird shit I loved as a kid and the weird shit I love as an immature adult.
After attending Crop Conference last month, some of the biggest juggernauts in the creative realm all touched on this theme of embracing your weird—it just so happens they are all past guests on the podcast as well.
I felt inspired to combine their episodes with my thoughts and go deeper on this weird subject of showing your weird.
Today's episode is now a permission slip for you to connect the dots of your weirdness as a kid with your weirdness as an adult. Of course, I'm dishing out a fun drawing challenge with this to give you something to act on. More details on this at the end.
Let's start with going over the juggernaut speaker quotes from Crop and use those as our foundation.
Crop Conference Fuel
James Victore
During James's keynote, he talked a bit about his book Feck Perfuction. In his book and one of the messages he constantly drives home to creatives is the quote of, "The things that made you weird as a kid make you great today."
This quote formed the theme for today's assignment and got me thinking about all the weird things I loved as the kid and how those weird things influence me today.
You can listen to James back on episode 117 of the podcast.
Jon Contino
Jon Contino's talk was literally titled Born Weird.
He embraces the shit that's made him weird in his past and influenced his style and the person he's become today. A quote that resonates with me the most was when he said, "Creatives get to be weird forever."
He said that shit with so much conviction that it let me know I'm going in the right direction.
You can listen to Jon back on episode 123 of the podcast.
Lauren Hom
Last, but definitely not least, Lauren Hom rocked the stage and dropped some gems about how her passion projects spoke to her inner weirdo.
I'm meshing two quotes into one here when she said, "Embrace your inner weird. The things you love outside of design are the things you should explore in your work."
It got me thinking: how can I incorporate the weird things I loved in the past and in the present and show more of it in my work? Again, more fuel to this drawing challenge I'm giving you shortly.
You can listen to Lauren back on episode 75 of the podcast.
My Past & Present Weirdness
Since I've been back from the conference, I gave myself a little homework assignment to dig deep into the weird shit I was obsessed about when I was a kid.
In no particular order, things I loved as a kid:
Pizza
Aliens and outer space
Anything paranormal and supernatural
Trees, clouds, and sun rays
Cartoons: Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Rugrats, Reading Rainbow
Bob Ross
Football and Basketball Cards
Dragons and Grim Reapers
Videogames
Pokemon and Zelda on Gameboy
Mario on Nintendo
Shaq-F, Sonic, and Tecmo Superbowl on Sega
Final Fantasy, Tony Hawk, Madden, and Spyro on PlayStation
Cool S
Pencils, fine liners, black and white, and details over white space
Laffy Taffy Jokes
The things I love as an immature adult:
Pizza
Aliens and outer space
Anything paranormal and supernatural
Trees, clouds, and sun rays
Coffee
Cats
Art supplies
Game of Thrones
Puns, Dad Jokes, Wordplay, and Alliteration
Pencils, fine liners, black and white, and details over white space
Fitness
When I list out my past and present weird obsessions, I can easily start connecting the dots and see the overlap in my work.
The Future Weird of Perspective-Collective
As I niche down and start the next chapter of Perspective-Collective, there are a few things I'm tapping into as I grow to know more about myself.
My goal isn't to attract and appeal to the widest audience possible like it once was.
In this day and age of social media, people crave an authentic connection to those who aren't afraid to be their true selves in their work—both online and offline.
I realize it's more important than ever to wave my freak flag with pride. Doing so helps me attract the right type of freaks to my tribe who vibe to my own flavor of weird. The rest can unfollow, and hopefully, they'll find their own community of like-minded weirdos.
Waving my freak flag moving forward involves understanding, embracing, and showing those weird things that make me unique from my past and present to shape my future.
That's where this challenge comes to play if you're vibin' to today's message.
The Challenge: Show Your Weird #PCFlashSheet
I want you to create a flash sheet (a collective collage of drawings) of the things that made you weird as a kid and now as an adult.
Use my episode artwork today as an example or search Flash Sheet on Instagram or Pinterest to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Tag me on Instagram on both my @prspctv_cllctv and @perspectivepodcast accounts and use #PCFlashSheet to make sure I see it.
That's it! Use color, go black and white, make a photo collage, whatever you want.
I'm hoping today's message and this challenge gets you one step closer to showing up and being your truest, weirdest self—the weirder the better.
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CREDITS
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico