Every time I pass by this banner I wonder who put it up… and do they really want to just be ordinary? Then I start thinking about what a big deal it is to give ourselves permission to be anything more than just ordinary. I mean, what is ‘ordinary’ anyway?

Can I just say – who wants that?! Many times it seems easier and more comfortable to fit in, to make ourselves smaller… less… to get approval and validation from others, to fulfill their ideas of who you are, who you should be… what you can or can’t have… what you can or can’t do… but how much fun is that? Zero fun, that’s how much.

Being able to be more than ordinary… maybe stick out, or stand out, can be a really big deal. You probably get more attention, sometimes good, sometimes bad… you probably handle more judgement, also some good and some bad… but I really believe that the more you are your own extraordinary self, no matter what that looks like, the more you can have… in every part of your life… and what’s better than that. Nothing, in case you couldn’t get there on your own.

Dealing with some jerk face’s negative judgement about you (which is never actually about you by the way) is a small small price to pay to have the freedom to be you, not someone else’s definition of the you it’s ‘okay’ to be… and have exactly the life you want, for yourself, not for anyone else. And if you have amusement about other peoples’ judgements this is actually a reliable source of entertainment – WIN!

So in the spirit of having permission to be much more than just ‘ordinary’ and have everything you want, I’m sharing one of my favorite quotes today. I keep it printed out as a reminder – to be big, stand out, be weird and different and awesome and amazing and you… because there is nothing better – or more extraordinary – than that.