Do you want to live a crazy life?
The kind that’s filled with the best memories, the boldest moves, and decisions that make perfect sense to you even though nobody else seems to understand?
In today’s world, most of us live a very balanced life. Our goal is to always have work-life balance, a balanced diet, and so on.
Nothing wrong with that. But if you’re the type that leans more on the crazier side, in a good way, this blog post is for you.
Keep reading…
What does it mean to be crazy?
The best part about living a crazy life is that there is no standard definition of it. You decide what crazy means to you.
To me, it means having a life that is extraordinary — literally.
It means being excited to wake up every single day because you’re willing to explore, create, and discover, and other people’s opinions of you do not exist.
It means going with your gut. Being intense. Falling in love. Making tons of mistakes as well as coming up with solutions and ideas no one ever thought about.
Because you know you’re not here to follow everybody else, but to live your own passionate, colorful, meaningful, crazy journey.
And here are my seven tips to do that.
How to live a crazy life
1. Be crystal clear on your priorities
I’ve noticed a common trait among those who live life on their own terms.
And that is, the ability to identify what the true priorities are, and then go all-in on those priorities.
Most of us know fully well what would make us happy, what would make our life complete. But then we tend to hesitate and worry about the what ifs.
The craziest people seem to have an innate ability to just… go for it. Whatever it takes. And ignore anyone and anything that stops them (including self doubt).
Yes, there will be risks. But if you’re clear on what you want, the reward will be so worth it.
2. Think outside the box
Life is constant problem solving. Your ability to solve problems is a fundamental skill.
Now, when it comes to coming up with creative solutions and ideas, most people have a somewhat lazy approach.
Either they follow what everybody else does, or they rely on whatever the internet says.
This isn’t necessarily the wrong approach — it’s easy, and it usually saves time.
But to live a crazy life, you want to think outside the box. When solving problems, you want to use your head and intuition first, and only then consider what others have done in the same situation.
Because if it’s the other way around, you’ll almost always end up choosing the most common (and probably least interesting) route.
3. Forget about money
Another trait of people with a crazy life, at least one that I’ve noticed a few times, is their apparent disregard for money. Interestingly enough, this doesn’t always translate to a lack of money — if anything, it usually leads to more financial freedom.
The thing is, the average person is literally obsessed about money, whether they realize it or not.
Crazy people tend to ignore the concept of money and instead base their financial decisions on value, opportunities, happiness, and their own priorities (as explained in the first point).
This is why you see some entrepreneurs reinvest everything they earn into their idea, for years, then make extravagant purchases or give money away once they finally make it. Their goal was to create and experience more, not to earn more.
Crazy people are able to see the bigger picture and understand that although money is important, it should not dictate everything in their life.
4. Live like a child (again)
Develop a curious mindset. Ask why. Pay attention to everything you see and hear around you every single day.
Focus on what you want to do, not on what you must do. Live in the present moment because that’s all you’ve got.
Do you know what’s really cool about this? It’s who you used to be — if you lived like a child in the past, you can do it again now!
It’s not easy, and it takes courage. Especially after decades of social conditioning.
Not all social conditioning is bad, of course. The issue is that after a while we become unable to distinguish what’s right/good and what isn’t (for us, and others).
To live a crazy life, live like a child, and develop the habit of challenging things, including obvious ones.
5. Live in your own world
Do all human beings live in the same world?
Technically, yes. But the truth is that each of us lives in their own unique reality.
What is your life made of? What types of people do you normally interact with? What do you focus your energy on? What is important to you?
These — much more than your culture, country, job, and so on — define the dimension in which you live every day.
The crazier you are, the more unique your reality will be.
Actual crazy people can lose touch with the external world, and have thoughts so abstract even they cannot comprehend.
But a small dose of craziness is probably healthy, and allows you to see (and live) the world in ways that are absolutely unique.
6. Remember you only live once
“The trouble is, you think you have time” (it’s a famous quote that’s been attributed to the Buddha).
Seriously, though. Think about it. Even the most driven, most enthusiastic individuals, even those with a life filled with purpose, tend to waste a lot of time.
I believe it’s precisely because of what the quote says — we think we have a lot of time, but really, we don’t.
So the sixth tip to live a crazier life is to never forget that our time, here on this planet, in this life, is very limited.
No need to become a sleep-deprived workaholic, or to constantly do more and chase more. But you only have one life — make the most of it, and be crazy.
7. Make mistakes
Finally, don’t make the mistake most people make. The mistake of never making mistakes.
It’s been said that the school system trains us to never try out new things and experiment, because every time we make a mistake we get punished.
Or, it could be your personality — perhaps you’re a bit of a perfectionist, or control freak, and find it really hard to do things outside your comfort zone.
Whatever the reason, we all tend to fear mistakes rather than use them to learn and grow.
Those with a crazy life, on the other hand, know that mistakes are necessary. Not only that, they can be a lot of fun, too. We just need to embrace them, and stop taking life so seriously.
Final thoughts
Our best memories probably don’t include the words safe, usual, average. And so on. You get the point.
I remember a famous jeans brand once used the slogan “be stupid” in one of their advertising campaigns.
Smart listens to the head. Stupid listens to the heart. Smart has the plans. Stupid has the stories.
As an ad, it was meant to be controversial, and capture people’s attention. Nothing too philosophical.
But if you replace the word “stupid” with the word “crazy”, I think those slogans actually make a lot of sense.
Be crazy.