Crazy! Everyone offers a different brand of crazy. The question is “How can you unleash your brand of crazy in a manner that touches hearts and expands minds?” In my experience, it is easy once you embrace three beliefs as the foundation of your life and work. The three beliefs are actually quotes and that have blessed my life and my brand:

1. First up is a quote by the late martial artist Bruce Lee: “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine.”

2. Second is a quote by the poet Ms. Maya Angelou: “When people show you who they are, believe them.”

3. Third is a quote by an unknown author. It reads “When you believe in your dreams, they may come true, but when you believe in yourself, they will come true”.

Now, let’s engage in a bit of “mindset mastery” so that you can unleash your kind of crazy in a wildly wonderful way.

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine.” – Bruce Lee

When you finish reading this article, you will have learned that you must be your own guru.   It will be extremely difficult to achieve any level of success if you crave the advice and opinions of others. It is essential that you look within and see only worth, value and goodness.  Looking in the mirror and saying things to yourself like “I’ll never be, do or have enough”, is a sure-fire recipe for failure. It will be nearly impossible to assemble your gifts, talents, strengths, abilities and the lessons learned from your life experiences into marketable and monetizable products and services if you are running here and there asking everyone “What do you think?”

Unleashing your brand of crazy in the form of digital and physical products demands leadership, confidence and clarity. I am so thankful that my father taught me at a very young age to see myself as a leader – at all times. This one lesson has propelled me through many of life’s twists and turns.  Unleashing your brand of crazy requires that you look in the mirror and know to the core of your being that the only opinion that really matters is held in the face reflected back to you.

“When people show you who they are, believe them.”- Maya Angelou

I love this quote because it has a beautiful blade that cuts both ways. Meaning, if you look in the mirror and “see” crazy, then you have a responsibility to get it together, quick, fast and in a hurry. Nothing of real significance happens in our lives until we take full-bodied responsibility for all of it.

If you find that you suffer from laziness, procrastination, mood swings, selfishness, greediness, manipulation, and any other vices, you have “nothing but the drama” going on and it you owe it to yourself and those who love you, to get yourself together. Get engaged in personal and professional development to grow yourself and expand your paradigm of possibility.Embrace the tools of personal and business mastery to propel yourself forward.

On the other hand, if you are attracting clients with these qualities and you are crying and screaming all the time “Why, God, why me?”, then look in the mirror. Once again, the problem rests squarely with YOU. Yes, it is true that darkness is attracted to light, but light must also embrace the darkness in order for it to unpack and move in. Remember the word “responsibility”? Well, now is when you take the initiative and do the necessary internal work to “get your mind right” and clear the clutter in every area of your MIND. Notice that I said the internal obstacle. It is the thoughts that you are currently thinking that are manifested in your life. If you meet a crazy client, examine your intentions and motivations. Engage in inner inquiry so that you can discover the root of this belief and pull it out.

“When you believe in your dreams, they may come true, but when you believe in yourself, they will come true.” – Anonymous

I believe that “Confidence + Clarity + Action Lead Directly to Clients + Cash + Clout”.  In order to fully embrace your brand of crazy, you must gain absolute clarity surrounding your gifts, talents, strengths, abilities and the lessons learned from various life experiences.  To be your own guru requires knowing who you are so that you don’t get swept up into other people’s ideologies and plans before clearly understanding whether or not they are offering a mutually beneficial relationship/partnership.

We’ve all seen examples of how people who seek to dismiss or discount your worth will label you “crazy, weird, strange, etc.”  These words have always been used to belittle, make fun of and offend the recipient. What I know for sure, is that when no one else believes in you, you must believe in yourself. You must create a strong barrier of self-love and self-care because trust me; you will meet people who do not respect that you are not necessarily crazy because you don’t think and behave exactly as they do. My concept of a toxic mindset is when folks expect other people to march to the beat of their drum, thinking and behaving exactly in the same manner as they do. Even more absurd is the idea that something is wrong with me because I won’t succumb to their narcissistic belief system.

Sadly, many people who take the brave move of stepping up and standing out, will have at least one person say to them “That sounds crazy and you are crazy for taking such a bold action.”  Sad isn’t it that there isn’t a shortage of “realistic” people who find it their life’s work to stomp on dreams and hearts?

Diversity is a beautiful thing.

We are meant to be different in our own wonderful way. Look at the artists, musicians, holistic health providers, playwrights, poets, athletes, actors, singers, dancers, coaches, consultants, speakers, trainers and authors who’ve navigated their way through the sludge of low self-esteem, laziness, un-forgiveness, negative mindsets and toxic relationships to reach the place deep within, where the still, small voice of God gently whispers “You are enough. You have a valuable contribution to make to the world. You are created in the image of the Divine. Take loving action. Be your own guru. I am with you. Go for it. Love all. Serve all.”

September 2013 Issue