Being Great, Being Unforgettable, What is it really all about? A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about 10 Simple Ways to be Unremarkable: But then, who really wants to be unremarkable? It got me really excited about how to be remarkable!
I am a firm believer that we should all be willing to make mistakes, maybe even get a little comfortable…
- To be willing to be completely vulnerable.
- To be willing to dream a little.
- To be willing to love + be passionate about the work you do.
- To be willing to make an impact.
- To be willing to travel, see new places + meet people.
- To be willing to give a shit about something, maybe a friend, family, neighbor or even a stranger.
- To be willing to look at things different + even wonder how things work.
- To be willing to follow your happiness.
What’s the worst that can happen? Like seriously, what’s the worst that can really happen?
You become a little more memorable, a little bit more interesting, and maybe even a little bit more… REMARKABLE!
I spent a little time, thinking about remarkable people I know and the tips below are ingrained in those women. They live it, eat it and dream it. And the good news is that you can learn it all. I believe that by following the successful people, we can become like them. We can all be remarkable!
8 Tips on How to be Remarkable
1. Be Yourself
You are a Wonder Woman! There is nothing and no one better than you. I know you probably think that’s easy to say. I struggled a lot with this, especially in the beginning when I started my business. I tried to be “corporatey”. But the funny part is that I left the corporate word, because it didn’t allow me to be me.
Why was I trying to settle for that again? But thanks to great teachers like @daniellelaporte, @marieforleo, and @garyvanderduck who are so goddam authentic, I soon realized that I should be true to myself too. It seems stupid, but it gave me the permission to realize that I am who I am and you are who you are!
Are you willing to be completely vulnerable?
2. Dream Big
When I was in university, I joined the coolest organization in the world, AIESEC. Within 5 months, I was on a sit-in conference in Ghana with 300 young people from 35 countries who were there to discuss HIV/AIDs advocacy in Africa.
I always thought I was going do something for my community, but as I sat there during a session of God-knows-what, I looked around me and realized that everyone in that room wanted to change the world, and the only difference they had to what I had, is the belief that they could.
I decided then and there, I was going to dream big and be freakin’ remarkable, because that’s the difference between the ones that are and the ones that aren’t – just that belief that they can be remarkable too.
Are you willing to dream a little?
3. LOVE Your Job
Don’t bitch. If you are bitching about your job, you shouldn’t be there.
You need to love what you do. Really love what you do. One of my friends, Sara loves what she does. It’s incredible when you see her speak about cleansing and juicing. She literarily lights up. She loves what she does, helping women get healthier.
Are you willing to ask yourself what makes you smile + gets you excited in the morning?
4. Work… like for real – DO something!
One of my favorite quotes is from Indira Gandhi, she said “My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”
Did you know that 27% of time online is spent on social media? So that means, that estimates to 17 hours per week. That means one who day of your week might be wasted. What about the projects you want to do? Your community who needs help? Or how you can grow your business and your freedom? Or that book you could have wrote?
Are you willing to stop thinking so much and start doing?
5. Travel
When I was 17, I boarded a flight to spend 4 months in a country I knew nothing about. I went to Estonia. It was the first time I had left home for more than 2 weeks and I was excited that I was about to embark and live with 15 people from 12 nationalities. Normal conversations would range from “Does God Exist?”, to “What do you have for breakfast in your country?”
It was really uncomfortable because for 4 months, I would wake up to seeing these people every single second of every single day. I would have to speak in front of large groups, taste different foods and even perform belly dancing in front of hundreds of people… and I’m not even a good dancer!
Travel made me question everything. It made me question my beliefs, my values, my perceptions, my understanding of myself, my culture…
It completely shifted me and it was my first crash-course in personal development. And the strangest part is that when I came home, everyone else was exactly the way I had left them.
Are you willing to go an adventure? Travel to cities you have never been to before, perhaps it’s even neighborhoods you have never been before…
6. Care + be grateful
When I was 11 my mother dragged me, literately, to go and volunteer with the children cancer sufferers. As I walked around with kids, my age maybe younger, I wondered why these kids my age were suffering so much.
I realized that life was not fair.
The fact that I was born in a comfortable home, with great parents and access to a fantastic education opened up so many doors for me.
That’s when I realized I was given two eyes to see, two hands to make something and two ears to listen. But I only have one heart and I guess that’s because it’s because it must be so important that we only need one, and we need to grateful for what we have, care for someone and maybe just maybe, make the world a bit of a better place – or at least try. We don’t even need to be that big really; it could be just for your friends and family making them feel somebody gives a shit. As it is, major depression is the No.1 psychological disorder in the west.
Are you willing to give a shit? Pick a person, give them a call today and tell them that you care!
7. Be Curious
Da Vinci was the greatest example of what being curious could do for you. He did everything and anything if curiosity took him there. Why are not letting ourselves be curious? Seth Godin is a genius and he spoke at a TEDx on Stop Stealing Dreams, it is focused on kids and education. But there is a lot to learn. Curiosity is a gift; it’s a gift that animals don’t have. Why don’t we use it?
Recently, during a workshop, some participants shared with me that they came to my workshop because they were curious about my background because it was interesting to them. But it’s not really so much planned for, but it was just my curiosity of what I would learn if I tried all those things.
What about you? What are you curious about? What do you want to try?
8. Trust & be happy
Life can be complicated, life can be strange, but trust yourself, trust your intuition, and let it take you where you need to go. Let it be part of your decisions. Don’t worry about being part of the status quo, there is no one forcing you to do it except for you. There is a great Dutch saying that goes “No one is normal, stop trying to be.”
Are you willing to make happiness start now?
If you are inspired, share it! And please share with us: How are you going to be Remarkable?
You don’t have to want to change the world, but you can be awesome by breaking some of these rules. Want More Than This, Design Your Dream Life, Break the Rules! If you are ready, check out our new course on Lifestyle Design: The Art of Living on Purpose.
