BY: PAUL J. ULYSSEThe world is full of followers
—people who tend to go with
onform to the culture around them. But God is looking for ho aren’t afraid to stand up and be different. You may ha If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything."
STATEMENT ONE:
I AM tired of playing games, wearing masks or trying to be someone other than MYself? Wouldn't I like the freedom to just be accepted for who I are, without the pressure to be someone I really don't know how to be? Would I like to learn how to embrace your uniqueness and resist the pull to be like everyone else?
God knew what He was doing when He made ME. I AM a unique individual—God created ME the way you are! It's time that we dare to accept ourselves as different and stop being insecure about who we are.
QUOTE ONE:
"DONT DARE TO BE DIFFERENT DARETO BE YOURSELF AND IF THAT DOESNT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT THEN SOMETHING IS WRONG"
II Corinthians 6:17
2Co 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"God commands His people to be separate from the world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. Making the choice to be a committed spiritual Christian involves the matter of separation.
Here again is a term that needs to be fully understood. Some folks believe that separation means living our lives like, for example, the Amish. Others go to the opposite extreme and have no standards of separation at all. Like so many other areas of the Christian life, I believe we should seek to maintain a proper balance.
WHAT DOES BEING DIFFERENT MEAN?
Being different means:- Not being afraid to challenge the norm.- Being willing to take a chance.- Asking why.- Making your own track, not just following the well trodden path.- Charting your own course and destiny.- Being the person that you were meant to be.
I believe that everyone is born unique. But through the years we work very hard to be like everyone else. We conform to society’s so-called “common-sense.” Unfortunately it is just that – “common sense.” That does not mean its “good sense.”
What do we mean exactly by ‘Daring to be Different’?
Tick the Box and the Wild Card?
“Ticking the Box” is doing the normal thing for every situation: the typical advertisement, the typical sale, the typical window display, the typical mail shot, the typical response to a query, the typical company policy, the typical special offer, the typical business card, the typical sales presentation, the typical advice, the typical packaging, the list goes on..
“The Wild Card” is pushing out the boundaries and exploring some ideas that were never tried before in all these situations and considering them. Some of these you will throw out as being too costly, impossible to execute and totally impractical, but some might actually stay in the mix and merit further consideration.
Eventually you will land on a wild card ‘type’ idea that is feasible but will make you feel uncomfortable because it is not the norm and after all what will people think? What will my boss think? What will my customers think? What will my potential customers think?
The idea will be debated in the business and some will totally disagree and feel it is the wrong thing to do. Democracy probably won’t help you here unfortunately – Daring to be Different will involve someone being forceful and putting their opinion and conviction on the line. When you are in this ‘uncomfortable’ territory you have entered the ‘Dare to be Different’ zone.
Go for it? – This is a really tough one and you have to have a good look in your business mirror and decide what type of organisation and culture do you have. The answer depends on a few simple criteria:
1. Make sure everyone is on board with the objective – at least agree on this much!
2. Ensure the business is capable of executing the idea properly
3. Does the culture support those with the conviction of their beliefs? There is no place for ‘the sitting on the fence brigade’ rehearsing patiently for the moment that they can recite a chorus of ‘I told you so’.
What if it does not work? – The worst that will probably happen is that you will get noticed and you move on and try the next thing. At least you tried and were positive – This is a good thing.
Let’s try a little experiment to test the ‘Dare to be Different’ argument by answering a few questions?
• What adverts can you remember having read through the newspaper today?
• What adverts can you remember on the TV and Radio from this morning or last night?
• What special offer that came through your letter box did you actually read instead of filing in the waste paper bin?
• Which bank would you consider switching to because they are doing something or anything different to the others?
• Which window display made you stop and consider going into the shop?
• What rep made a presentation to you that really impressed you by the level of preparation?
• What customer rang you and was really honest about being in difficulty instead of ducking and diving your calls? (Might you go the extra mile to help him out or call in the 7 day letter crew?)
• Which business card did you actually notice?
• Which politician really stood out in the local elections?
• What brochure did you actually stop and read?
• What event did you attend and you still talk about it?
• What product feature made you consider a product above another one?
• What have you seen or heard lately that made you laugh, smile, angry or talk about after and debate?
Whichever way you decide to go ‘Daring to Be Different’ is something to really consider for your business. Do you have a culture that will support it? If not forget about it. However if you do, then you should strongly consider going for it. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but it will get you and your business noticed, something we all need right now.
MY FINAL WORDS
In closing I’d like to say to those of you that are skeptics out there, those of you that are saying “oh, he is just drink with the omnipotence of youth. He’ll get over it, and then he’ll be just like everyone else.”
My words to you are:
“I ain’t going out like that. I know that I have an abundance of potential within me and I will bring it out to fruition. Why?”
“Because…I’M DIFFERENT!”
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