Daily Inspiration: “Be like Oblio. Embrace your inner oddness!”

“Be like Oblio. Embrace your inner oddness!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

At some point in time you might realize that you are different from everyone else.

Run with it!

Yesterday, I obtained the ISBN for what will become my 37th book in a career as an author over 25 years – in this case, “Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast: Stories from the Stage on Innovation, Disruption & Our Accelerating Future.” It will be published later this fall, by my publishing arm, Oblio Press.

https://obliopress.com

Oblio?

He was a magical character in singer Harry Nilsson’s 6th album, “The Point,” which featured the hit song, “Me and My Arrow.” In the album – and later, in the movie – Oblio was the only round-headed person in a land in which everyone, by legal dictate, should have a point.

The land, of course, was known as the Pointed Village.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA6rOUw6bYA&

I’m Oblio – realizing years ago that I’m somewhat different from those around me.

If anyone had told me years ago that, as an accountant by background, I would be on stage around the world speaking about the Jetsons with clients such as NASA (who has had me in twice), I would have laughed in their face.

And yet here I am, 30 years on.

I seemed to know early on that I was kind of different.

I got in trouble in grade 3 for making stink bombs. Out of pens and sulphur matches. I read it in a book. I thought everyone did this type of thing.

I never went to history class in high school, since I had already read all of the books as a 12 year old – and so when the principal called me into the office to discipline me, I asked him how I might improve from a mark of 98? I spent my time instead as head of the high school radio station, blasting Led Zeppelin out to the jocks who wanted to listen to disco.

In the accounting firm for which I worked, I used stickmen as audit tick marks instead of X’s & O’s. I was called onto the carpet for doing so. I decided they were out to crush my creativity.

When I discovered the online world in 1982, I abandoned my career, dedicating myself to a voyage into the connected future. I ended up writing a little book about the Internet in 1994; it became a best seller – I found myself on stage.

I’m Oblio, and so are you.

Embrace your inner Oblio. You’ll find your creativity in your oddness!