To All Our Fellow Entrepreneurs Brave Enough to Chase Down the Dream:
Here we are into the second week of 2022. The year is officially afoot. I can’t speak for y’all, but this last month has been tough, and I know that January is going to continue to feel heavier than normal thanks to the continued super spread of omicron. So, before we jump into inspiration, I want to remind everyone to be mindful for yourself and mindful for others. Although the truth of life is that it is always uncharted – no one of us has the “treasure map” with a proverbial “x” that “marks the spot” – these wacky times just take a little more to keep pep in our steps and so on.
I used the winter slowdown as a time for reflection. A small benefit of being an orphan at this point in life and a RONA super spread means that I had an awful lot of time just to meditate and look back on a rocky but wonderful year while also looking to how this informs what I want this next year to be.
As I look to 2022, I find that I am more than motivated. More than hopeful. I am supercharged and that is thanks in no small part to you – all of you – weirdos.
Here’s the thing… we are all a little weird. But life itself is also a little weird. And I feel so fortunate that I have found people whose weirdness is so amazingly synergistic with my own. Because on the other side of weirdos like us, there are those who are generic. They make generic responses, and they expect generic answers. They are perfectly comfortable living inside boxes and prefer that others do too. But where some seek boundaries… we push them. Where some draw lines… we blur them. We push. We pull. We kick. We scream. We do not just accept. We achieve. Because there is a whole category of people who miss out by simply not allowing themselves to be weird enough.
Sure, we may be weirdos, but there is greatness in the originality each of us bring to the world and all I can say is: So, we’re a little weird? Let’s work it! So, we’re a little different? Let’s own it! Better to be a nerd than one of the herd!
Now it’s time for the “inspo.” And this is one that is fun, at least for me, because it is so simple and yet so on point. Check out this hero image/promo of Beyonce for Ivy Park x Adidas…
Everything about this is ridiculous. But what makes it so inspirational – at least to me – is how unapologetic it is. I mean the composition of the image basically “reads” that Beyonce is just going to stand there looking fabulous while someone else attempts to hit her racket with a tennis ball because, you know, that’s how Beyonce plays tennis. And you know what… that just feels right. May not be how the rest of the world plays tennis but this is how Beyonce plays tennis and you know what… I like it. Now, I could go on about the insane level of curated art direction that goes into this moment… I can’t help but call attention to the perfectly matched tonal green faux deer cruising in the background… but the summary statement is that Beyonce is next level weird. While some of us are still in dress rehearsal of weirdness, she has been doing this longer than Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “CATS” was on Broadway. It didn’t happen overnight. But she’s always been a little off. A little over the top. Or as someone once said to me, simply put, “She’s a lot of theater.” As life goes on, theatrics or otherwise it’s clear that whatever beat she is marching to is her own and she is bringing us all along for the ride.
So, keeping in mind that some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them… I just want to let you know – from one weirdo to another – I f*cking love how strange you are. I love how different you are. You inspire me in ways no numerous to list. And I am grateful for it. Now, I’ve been embarrassing myself since birth and so perhaps it’s a little easier for me to toss around such language, but I encourage if you if there is someone out there whose uniqueness alongside a sense of mutual weirdness that inspires, impresses, or simply moves you to be your freer, better self… tell them. And tell them now. Let’s make 2022 the year we build each other up – brick by brick, thought by thought, moment by moment – simply because we are weirdos, and weirdos do whatever the h*ll they want.
Let’s play ball, 2022!
That’s all.
– Le Jardinier
