Embrace Being the Outlier

I just came from getting some mulch off Facebook Marketplace, free mulch. Yeah, I said free. If you’re a gardener, a homesteader, or somebody just starting out growing your own food, Facebook Marketplace is a cheat code. 

You can find building materials, tools, compost, and all kinds of stuff. Sometimes your city will even give away mulch or compost for free. All you gotta do is show up with a shovel and a pickup.

But while I was driving back, sweaty and muddy, something hit me: embrace being the outlier.

That means being okay with being different. Being okay with people not understanding you. Because when you pivot away from how you were raised or the environment you grew up in, you’re going to stick out. 

When you start talking differently, moving differently, believing differently, people will look at you like you’ve lost your mind.

Being Different Hits Different

My wife and I homeschool our kids. And let me tell you, when we first started, folks looked at us sideways.

Everybody around us sent their kids to regular school. Public school, private school, charter school- that’s all we ever knew growing up. Homeschooling wasn’t an option. So when we said, 

“We homeschool our kids.” People thought we were crazy. They started asking all kinds of questions: “Aren’t you worried about social skills?” “Won’t they fall behind?”

But what they didn’t realize is that we were creating something better for our family.

We tried sending our son to public school once, just to see if we were missing something. But he was bored. The homework they sent home, he already knew it. 

He wasn’t being taught, just being managed. So we pulled him right back out. It didn’t make sense to stress ourselves, driving back and forth, sitting in the long pickup line every day, especially with everything going on in schools right now.

So we went back to what worked.

And now those same people who thought we were crazy are seeing the results. Our kids are thriving. They’re ahead of their peers. 

They’re confident, curious, and still social because they play sports, hang with family, and connect in programs outside the house. People start to understand once they see the fruit.

Outliers Become Trendsetters

Let me tell you something, outliers and outcasts become the trendsetters.

The ones who dare to move differently are the ones who create something new. If everybody always “went along to get along,” we wouldn’t have cars, electricity, the internet, or social media.

Somebody had to say, “I believe I can make something better,” and they did.

The truth is, normal is only normal because nobody’s challenged it yet. The second someone stands up and says, “Let’s try this another way,” the world starts to change.

So don’t be afraid to challenge what’s considered normal. Your difference might just be divine.

People Will Think You’re Crazy

When you choose to be set apart, people might think you’ve lost it. They’ll label you, mock you, even question your sanity.

You might hear, “They must be in a cult.” Or “They’re going through a phase.” But you’re not crazy; you’re called.

Normal is comfortable, but it’s also a trap. Normal keeps people in the same town, doing the same thing, hanging with the same folks, repeating the same cycles. That’s not peace; that’s stagnation.

Fear is what keeps people stuck. They’re scared to test their wings. They’ve never flown, so they tell you you’ll fall if you try. But how can they know if they’ve never even left the nest?

You gotta jump.

And yeah, you might fall the first time, but you’ll learn. You’ll figure out how to glide. And when you do, those same people who said you couldn’t will be asking how you did it.

Faith to Fly

I’ve seen it over and over again. Folks afraid to start a business because they’re comfortable with their paycheck. But that paycheck keeps them dependent. It keeps them afraid.

They say they can’t take risks because they’ve “gotta be responsible,” but they’re really just scared.

I tell them, you’ve got a gift. You can cook, paint, build, sing — something. But fear keeps you from using it. Fear of failure, fear of what people will say, fear of losing that “steady job.”

Here’s the truth. You might fail. You might stumble. But failure teaches you how to grow.

When you fall off that bike, you don’t stop trying. You get back on. You learn balance.

That’s how life works.

Different Isn’t Wrong

We celebrate Steve Jobs now, but when he started talking about a phone that could show your face on screen, people thought he was out of his mind. When Mark Zuckerberg was coding Facebook in a dorm room, his friends thought he was wasting his time.

If those people had listened to the doubters, we wouldn’t have half the things we use today.

Being an outlier means seeing what doesn’t exist yet. It means believing before the evidence shows up.

You’re Not in a Cult; You’re in Your Calling

A lot of times, people will attack what they don’t understand. They’ll say you’re weird, brainwashed, too extreme. But that’s just projection. They’re uncomfortable because you’re doing what they’re scared to do: step outside the mold.

You’re not crazy. You’re courageous.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit in, it’s probably because you’re meant to stand out.

Outliers Become Leaders

Look at the South in the early 90s. Outkast came on the scene, and people laughed at their accent, their slang, their style. But when Andre 3000 stood up at the Source Awards and said, “The South got something to say,” everything shifted.

They were outcasts until the world caught up.

That’s what happens when you embrace being different. The same people who clown you now will one day quote you. The same ones who laughed will be inspired by your courage to go first.

Being an Outlier Builds Legacy

When I first started this homestead life, people from back home couldn’t believe it. A dude from the city, out here raising chickens and planting food. They thought it was a joke. But then they saw the peace, the progress, the purpose.

Now they’re asking questions. They want to learn. They want to visit.

That’s the power of being the outlier: you open doors for others. You make it okay for them to follow.

Final Word

Fam, hear me when I say this: embrace being the outlier.

Be the one who dares to pivot, to stand alone, to do it differently. Because one day, the same folks who questioned you will thank you for going first.

You don’t have to fit in to make an impact. You just have to stand firm in your faith, your purpose, and your vision.

So keep building, keep growing, keep flying. Because being different isn’t a curse. It’s your calling.

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✊🏾 Peace fam.