Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for January 31, 2014

You don’t have to.You will, but you don’t have to.And that’s what’s really important.

As long as you’re happy with the way your life turned out who cares if it was “unremarkably average”?

Or, you can join the Rangers and see unsafe places, meet unusual people, and shoot them.

It’s the tall blade that gets mown down. Sometimes not being someone who adds to the world’s problems is a good thing.

Bosh! You can march to your own drum and not “add to the world’s problems”

Don’t question authority, that’s something we always do to prevent jail time.

Figures he would push that. He wrote the book “The Art of Non-Conformity”Set your own rules, live the life you want, and change the world.Lets see who else does that:TyranntsDrug Cartel leadersDictatorsAbusive peopleI understand what he is trying to say but one must do these things within limitations.It is nice to do your own thing….I wonder how his support drones think about that.We tried that back in the 60’s. Non-Conformity is not a new idea. It did not work so well…some things changed for good, many we made worse.It is best to not let the Fire get out of control. Let it burn but keep it in control.

Nah. This seems such a shallow perspective. 95% of the people I meet may have outwardly unremarkable lives but they are so talented in other ways. Artistically, or spiritually, athletically, intellectually; some have the gift of gab and put others at ease, those who volunteer in little or big ways. The person who bakes the best cookies, who wraps beautiful packages, grows healthy plants, writes lovely letters…. They all have rich inner lives that should not be discounted. So what if they don’t outwardly carry the so called trappings of ‘Success’ ?

Success is how you define it. Follow your heart.

Those who conform choose the illusion of security.

He seems to be…wrote a book about how to do it, seen every country, I just wonder how the rest of the Non Important ones support his gig. It is the drones that make the colony live. The Queen bee cannot do it alone.

Wow. Just wow.

Agree.

There’s a difference between doing something that makes you happy, and picking something that is detrimental to everyone else around you. Guillebeau is saying the same thing Steve Jobs did – Don’t let other people’s expectation define who you are and what you become.

I never managed conformity myself, but I never developed the sense of superiority that Guillebeau suggests for non-conformity. I’ve found no evidence for that viewpoint and, trust me, I’ve looked.

Is that to say you “never did them”?Just kidding, your meaning was clear.

Well, I never listen to authority.