Strive to be exceptional...work to improve your life...refuse to settle... ...and people will think you're freaking insane.
The "normal" human, at least here in America, is overweight. Working a job they don't love. Watching hours of TV in a stupor every night and complaining that they don't have the time to pursue their passions. Rushing from one obligation to another until they fall into bed, exhausted—so they can do it all over again the next day.
If you refuse to accept this status quo, you're called nuts, crazy, obsessed, an overachiever, eccentric. Or odd, at the very least.
This is a sad state of affairs. If it's insane to want to live your best life, then everyone should be coo-coo.
The Crackpot Code is all about breaking out of the muck of "just okay" (or even "pretty terrible") to achieve happiness, passion, joy, and excitement in your life. The steps to ditching normal so you can live your best life, which we'll go over in detail, are Discard, Pause, Ask, Experiment, and Re-aim & Repeat.
(I really, really wanted the steps to spell out a cool acronym, but we're going to have to live with DPAER.)
If you follow these steps, some people will think you're touched in the head. That's okay. If it helps you overcome the fear of being called crazy, consider that once you've achieved your best life, you'll be able to inspire and help others escape "meh" as well.
(This is the PG version of a saltier version of The Crackpot Code available on Amazon.)
Linda Formichelli is a freelance writer in Los Angeles. She spent 25 years writing for top publications and brands, from Good Housekeeping and Inc. magazines to Best Buy and Intel. She's also the author or coauthor of a dozen books, including the classic The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success.