How to be Original

It’s damn hard in this world to be original. 

Society seems to want us to all be the same: have the same goals, listen to the same music, and have the same views. 

The irony is that if you can be original, you’ll be greatly rewarded. 

So how does one be original? Here are a few tips:

1. Follow your curiosity. Your curiosity will lead you to a field that’s most authentic to you. And once you find a field that you’re curious about, then mastery becomes a side effect. 
2. If you’re consuming what everyone else is consuming, then you’ll think like everyone else. Instead, listen to different music. Watch different TV shows or better yet, don’t watch any TV shows. Read old books. Get off social media. The most interesting, original ideas are not found in the mainstream, they’re found in the margins.  
3. Originality comes from mastery. Most mainstream ideas cover the surface. But there are plenty of novel insights when you get into the nuance. For example, if you’re learning Calculus 1, there’s a ton of content out there explaining basic derivatives and integration methods, but if you’re learning Calculus 5, the content becomes much rarer if it even exists at all. This idea can be applied to any field. 
4. Originality comes from the cross-pollination of disciplines. The more non-traditional the intersection the better. I come from a technology background but I found that being a technologist has made me a better writer and better at fashion and vice versa. I take the frameworks, ideas, and approaches from all these different disciplines to make me that much more original in what I’m doing. 
5. Surround yourself with original people. How do you find original people? Be original yourself. Non-smart ass answer is to find your scene. Back in the day, ideas were disseminated via lectures and conversations. Once you found your craft, the next step is to find your people, find your community, and find your scenius.