# Daily Inspiration: “Prove them wrong!”
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"Prove them wrong!"  - Futurist Jim Carroll It was a wildly wonderful weekend as I attended my high school 50th reunion on the weekend. I met, once again, the Principal who told me, more or less, that I might not amount to much because of my unique attitude. That's him in the image above; and that's me, shortly after graduation. We had a good laugh over that! Anyways, of course I did a little talk at the reunion with my classmate and fellow author Sherrie Rose! More on that to come - because there is a wonderful story embedded in my slides. Back to my story. In high school, I was, perhaps, an oddball, a rebel, an odd one out. To start, I couldn't' do any sort of sport, since I was so much younger than my other classmates. I didn't go to many classes but got great marks. And, my social scene revolved around the fact that I was involved with, and ran for a time, the high school radio station, CKWR. That's me in the front row, right. Epic! Anyways, back to my story! At one moment in time, my high school Principal called for a 'spirit assembly' in the gym - it was some sort of rah-rah session for one of our sports teams. I don't remember which team or what sport, but I do remember that I had no interest in going. None. Zilch. That wasn't my scene. So I stayed in the radio station and blasted out Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album through the school sound system for several hours, on repeat. Epic. This did not go over well. I was called into the office to see him. I was advised I was not contributing to the school, I needed to do more to improve my attendance in class, and that I needed to be a team player. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that he would never be able to provide me any sort of reference in the future, and in a passing comment, that I probably would not amount to much. I cockily suggested he take a look at one of my term marks. He opened the folder in front of him, and read out, "History, 98". I asked what was the point of going to class to try to get another point or two. (I went to one class that term, to check in, and then again, to write an exam.) LOL. Anyways, the opening chapter of my book Being Unique features that famous observation often attributed to Steve Jobs: Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” You can grab the sample chapter here or here. It's right there. Read it! I had one copy of the book with me that evening, and moments after this photograph was taken, gave it to my high school principal of so many years ago. He smiled, and chuckled. He told me he would send me his thoughts on the book. I'm looking forward to his comments! And I know that, deep down in his heart, he knows that it's the rebels, the crazy ones the misfits, the troublemakers -- the unique ones - are the ones who DO. Be unique. Rebel! Make good trouble! Because that, more than anything else you might ever do, will define your success!

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Source: https://jimcarroll.com/2026/07/daily-inspiration-prove-them-wrong/