We journalists like to believe that everybody has a story worth telling, but it’s just not true. Most people are, at best, incredibly boring. Some even suck at life. A recent (non-academic) study suggests that no more than 3% of the population in any given year does anything worth posting about.
That means photos from your visit to Aunt Mildred’s and your dog’s recent bath should stay in your phone. Your baby’s probably only cute to you—keep those pictures in an analog photo album and don’t pull it out until he’s dating.
If you want to join that three-percent it may be possible but you have to change everything.
Quit Your Job.
There’s nothing that gets in the way of awesome more than work. Forty hours of potential awesomeness down the crapper. You’ve got big ideas, big plans. You need freedom to make things happen and that salary position’s just holding you back.
Flip your desk and walk out. Bonus points if something’s on fire by the time you leave.
Chase Your Dreams.
Awesome people do awesome things, right? Go live it but think big.
You want to be an astronaut? Hang out at NASA. Yeah, there’s a fence but that’s just a boundary built by the man to keep you out. There’s awesomeness happening in there—go get it.
You want to date a supermodel? Pick one and start calling. Visiting. Sending letters. They dig that.
Ignore the Haters.
You’re chasing your dreams—doing big things and being awesome. Don’t let family or friends hold you back. They may think it’s a bad idea to start your own underground racing circuit but you gotta be you. Forget about them and do your thing.
Post it All.
Once you’ve moved past the daily grind and put family and friends in the rear view, it’s time to show all the little people what #YOLO really means.
A day on the slopes? Post it.
Dinner with your new, supermodel girlfriend? Post it.
Pissing excellence? Post it, but remember—that goes on Snapchat…maybe Vine.
Social media’s your greatest tool for communicating the fact that you’re dominating life. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter—they’re a great start but you have to really work the space. Now that you’re living the life, you have a responsibility to share it on G+ and find a way to review yourself on Yelp.
Take it to the Next Level.
Sometimes awesomeness needs a little publicity boost. That’s when awesome people step it up. Wreck a car and nobody cares. Drive it into a restaurant and people notice. Your game has to be on 110%.
Sure, haters may call you a douche or even click that unfollow button once in a while—but when you hit the trending feed, they’ll notice.
