The Tale of The Orange in a Bowl Full Bananas
It would be b-o-r-i-n-g if we were all identical;
But so many people succumb to the pressure;
Get a 'normal' job,
Dress a certain way,
Think like the others do.
This is going to show you how and why life doesn't need to be that way.
Hmm.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out -
That being the same as everybody else is never going to get you the exceptional results that you both desire and deserve.
Its only going to make you ultimately unhappy.
So let me share some inspiration for you today, and pre-empt it by saying this.
Each and every one of you already has the capacity for greatness.
It is simply a matter of belief, skillset and massive, consistent action. LFG !
Carving My Own Path
You all know me from X right?
Happy go lucky, award winning Coach, Content Creator, Commercial Writer and Consultant - dashingly handsome...
(Ok I lied about the last part)
But the rest is all true.
And one thing about me - that's honestly indisputable;
I love leveling up peoples lives faster than Usain Bolt runs laps after his seventeenth Cup of Coffee.
But dang. It wasn't always like this for me.
You think that I haven't had my fair share of
'What the hell am I doing moments.'
Believe it kids.
Learning to be a Coach was a struggle.
And creating my very own Coaching Model on top of that. Even tougher.
Dang.
Lets just say that I rattled a fair few cages of the already establish 'traditionalists' along the way...
Disrupting any Industry causes problems.
Frictions and unease.
And even when you 'make it' you get the haters.
But you have to use those bunch of Chiefs as motivators too.
And anybody who challenges the status quo has experienced it.
I am no different.
So today, I want to share with you a story, which will resonate with each and every one of you.
Why?
Because im here to tell you my friends, that at first the outliers are opposed,
-And eventually they are nearly always celebrated.
You can be too. (and I celebrate you already)
This one is for the aspiring Solopreneurs.
To remind or to confirm to you,
That you can have, do or be - anything.
Here is how...
First You Need To Accept That Your Are Different.
The only people who want to be the same as everybody else are Teenagers trying to fit in, and people too scared to leave their 'jobs.'
But that's a fake comfort paying you just enough to work hard enough to keep it - whilst simultaneously building somebody else's dream.
What the?
I encourage you to shake that mindset off faster than my neighbors dog shakes off that cold bucket of water somebody just poured over him, after barking his little head off for the last three hours.
(Not by me - honestly !)
And when I was younger and still trying to pursue my freedom dreams I really did feel just like the lone Orange trapped in a bowl full of Bananas.
Everywhere I looked, people were dressed in their orange peels of conformity, following the same old trends and spouting the same tired advice.
I on the other hand, stood out like a sore thumb, or rather, a bright yellow banana.
Every day, I tried to fit in...
I went to the same networking events, wore the same bland business casual attire, and nodded along to conversations about KPIs and market shares.
Coaching methods and 'strategies.'
It was death by a thousand powerpoints...
And deep down, I was screaming,
“I’m an Orange, people! I don’t belong in this Banana Bowl!”
My one big frustration was the constant pressure to be like everyone else, to mold myself into a Coaching Banana when all I wanted was to embrace my inner Orangeyness.
The Discovery
Then one day, while scrolling through yet another cookie-cutter motivational video, (so called)
It hit me like a rogue coconut.
The problem wasn’t me, it was the bowl I was in.
I didn’t need to change myself to fit into this fruit salad of sameness.
Instead, I needed to embrace my unique flavor and texture, and find a way to make my Orangey-ness an asset.
My discovery was simple yet profound:
The only limits we place on ourselves are those we allow society or ourselves to impose anyway.
I realized that the world needed less homogenized advice and more genuine, offbeat perspectives.
People were tired of being told to “think outside the box” by folks who never left the box in the first place.
The Transformation
Armed with this newfound clarity, I decided to shun societal pressure and carve out my own path.
I ditched the bland business casual for T shirts and Nike Trainers.
“I’m an Orange dagnabit, and I’m proud of it!”
Is what I said.
(Albeit not in those exact words perhaps)
But what I did do, was to stop attending networking events that felt like fruitless endeavors and started creating a Coaching model that was unapologetically me,
Serious but funny, knowledgeable and empathetic to the people who wanted to be different.
For those other Oranges.
A little quirky, and totally, refreshingly honest.
The change was immediate and exhilarating.
When I created The Master Elements, its reputation grew rapidly, I treated clients more like family than clients in fairness.
I don't take on nearly as many these days.
This was all a long time ago - but im still absolutely the same to this day.
Drawn to my authenticity and how hard that I worked to help people to become a success, and perhaps the humor I infused into my messages, sessions and strategies helped quite a lot as well.
I was certainly never short of clients after that first initial period.
You can read about some of them in my long form articles.
The lesson: People buy 'people' every bit as much as they every purchase 'a coaching session.'
As time went by, I shared unconventional life and business advice wrapped in anecdotes and observations, and actionable, practical advise.
People loved it !
They found my approach relatable and inspiring, a breath of fresh air in a space crowded with Bananas all trying to out Banana each other.
Not everybody of course...
It made others look boring as hell.
They were (and probably still aren't) Fans.
But i don't need or want those type of Fans anyway.
As a result, my coaching system eventually became nationally award-winning.
But that didn't just happen overnight...
Yet still some people congratulated me on my 'luck.'
But they didn't see the sleepless nights and the hard work that went into all this.
Not to mention the doubts.
Cause it is never easy being different.
But its the only way to get better, and different results - than the 'average' person.
And you don't ever want to be average.
I won't allow it anyway.
Each and every one of you is exceptional.
Without exception.
You just need to believe it yourself.
And let me to support you as well.
I wasn’t just helping people cope with their stress; I was empowering them to embrace their uniqueness and create lives they loved.
That's exactly what im still about on X to this day.
I made some of my closest friends through my clients, who appreciated my genuine care and the family-like bond we developed.
And its going that way with the Tribe here too.
Dedicating my life to elevating others, I found fulfillment and joy in ways I never imagined.
In the end, being an Orange in a bowl full of Bananas turned out to be my greatest strength.
It taught me that success doesn’t come from blending in but from standing out.
So, to all the fellow Oranges out there, don’t let the Bananas of this world peel away your uniqueness.
Embrace it, celebrate it, and watch as you carve out a path that’s uniquely yours.
Remember, the world needs more Oranges and fewer Bananas anyway.
Be bold, be different, and let your true colors shine.
After all, it’s the unique flavors that make the fruit salad of life truly delicious.
Yours,💘
Michael Masters - The Info Architect
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Helping you Master the Elements of Mindset, Coaching, Content Creation, Writing and Personal Branding.
By Bulletproofing Brains, Businesses and Bank Balances.
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