Here's to the Crazy Ones!

by: Rob Siltanen

"The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas & see a work of art?
Or, sit in silence & hear a song that's never been written?
Or, gaze at a red planet & see a laboratory on wheels?

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they
can change the world, are the ones who do."

I was introduced to this quote a few months ago and the words have resonated with me ever since. I have been referred to as “crazy” more times in my life than I can count. It used to bother me when I was younger, but as I have grown I have come to regard it as one of the highest of compliments. I am proudly branded as “being crazy”, as are many of my friends and family. You see, these days, the word crazy isn’t being used with the proper meaning that it is given in the dictionary. According to Google, crazy means, “mentally deranged, especially as manifested in a wild or aggressive way,” or “extremely enthusiastic.” The listed synonyms include: mad, insane, crazed, unhinged, and unstable. As you can see, the name-callers have been using the term “crazy” very much out of context.

So to my fellow crazy kindred, this one goes out to you…

When somebody calls you crazy, what they mean to say is, “You are genuine.” And guess what? We are. We are genuine and fearless, because we feel no shame in being ourselves. We know who we are and we know what we want. We are the honest ones that speak up and say what nobody else has the guts to say in the meetings. We are the ones that are going to pursue the “unattainable” aspirations, because it’s something that we love. We are the ones that don’t mind trying to look at things differently, and disagreements do not make us uncomfortable. We are the ones that will leap to action, even in times of uncertainty. We are the ones that are brave enough to take the lead when others are hesitant. We are the ones that do not let petty minds and cruel words keep us from making positive changes in the world. We are the ones that care more about more about enjoying our lives than other people’s opinions.

We are experts in self-expression. We make hard decisions. We scoff at the conventional. We run towards fear. We have rich spirits. We are quiet, but we are also deafeningly loud. We are artists. We are activists. We are partygoers, and we are introverts. We can be found in any group of people, after all, that’s exactly what we are… people. The only difference between the rest of the human race and ourselves is that we are unabashedly comfortable with ourselves. My friends, that is beautiful. The world NEEDS more people like us.

So the next time somebody calls you crazy, or you start to call somebody else crazy, remember that that is no insult. It is the highest of praises to be classified as “crazy”.

When somebody says that you're crazy, look them in the eye and say, " You're damn right I am, and I couldn't be prouder."