Key Takeaways
- The greatest opportunities often come disguised as weird or unusual paths
- "You only get one shot at life, so you might as well do something cool and not care what anybody else thinks"
- Taking risks in areas others avoid can lead to finding overlooked value (the Warren Buffett principle)
- Three steps to embracing the "weird": 1) Stop caring what others think, 2) Pursue what interests you regardless of perception, 3) Seek growth in multiple directions
The Initial Resistance
When Tilghman first heard about the opportunity to work with Real Men Apparel, his reaction was immediate and understandable: "I don't want to sell men's underwear. That's weird."
Many of us have faced similar crossroads – opportunities that don't align with conventional career paths or social expectations. The initial resistance is normal, but what happens next determines whether we discover new pathways to growth or remain confined to the comfortable and expected.
Breaking Through the "Weird Factor"
For Tilghman, the transformation from resistance to enthusiasm came through several realizations:
First, he looked to a mentor who was already in the field. "I looked at how [Jared] started the company, and I looked at him like, okay, he doesn't care what people think. So why should I?"
Second, he dipped his toes in the water instead of diving straight in. "I went and got my toes wet a little bit, and I started building confidence with it."
Third, he absorbed wisdom from unexpected places. A YouTube motivational video reminded him: "You only get one shot at life, so you might as well do something cool and not care what anybody else thinks is cool... If you're trying to impress everybody your whole life, you're just going to dig yourself an early grave."
Finding Value Where Others Don't Look
Chris draws a compelling parallel to investment strategies: "The ideas that grow really big don't start out that way." He references Warren Buffett's approach of finding companies that are "unjustly cheap" – businesses with great potential that others overlook.
This principle applies beyond investing. Sometimes the greatest opportunities in life don't appear impressive at first glance. They might seem unusual, uncomfortable, or even strange. But those willing to look deeper, to research and understand the fundamentals, often discover remarkable potential.
The Three-Part Mindset Shift
Tilghman's journey illustrates a three-part mindset shift that can apply to anyone facing unusual opportunities:
- Stop caring what others think: "It's not weird because one, I quit caring what people think."
- Do something that interests you regardless of external validation: "I want to do something cool with my life. And I don't care if you think it's cool or not."
- Seek growth beyond conventional paths: "I want to be somewhere where I can continue to grow in all kinds of directions, not just up a corporate chain."
A Balanced Approach to "Exercising Your Weird"
Both Chris and Tilghman acknowledge that embracing unusual paths requires discernment. As Chris notes near the end:
"There's a lot of things that people will tell you not to do. And, hey, sometimes the people telling you not to do something is for a very good reason, and you should listen to them."
The challenge is distinguishing between well-intentioned but limiting advice and genuine wisdom. Chris suggests:
"When you feel very strongly about something, you see how the world could be a better place if you move down this path... those are the times when it's really good to stop. Think, pray. Talk to people who you really trust, who are going to look past the weirdness or the objections and really ask a lot better questions than just the surface level."
The Invitation: Exercise Your Weird
Perhaps you're facing your own "weird" opportunity – a chance to pursue something that doesn't align with expectations but speaks to something deeper in you. Or maybe you've been playing it safe, avoiding the unusual in favor of the expected.
Either way, the invitation is clear: Exercise your weird. Be willing to see potential where others see strangeness. Take calculated risks. And surround yourself with people who can see past the surface to ask better questions.
As Chris concludes, "Get out there, exercise your weird, and let's make the world a better place."
Where might your "weird" lead you?
