Embracing Irregularities - They Make Things Special

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Have you ever felt different—as if you don’t fit in at all?

Do certain things seem easy for other people but leave you struggling? 

What about when looking at the bigger picture? Perhaps you feel as though you chose the wrong career, or you worry you’ve settled down in the wrong city to achieve your goals. 

Feeling out of place or different can be unsettling in a world that values sameness. It takes courage to stand out and be unique when everyone else is trying to fit in. However, the fact remains, we all have traits, habits or aspects about our personality or selves that are unlike others. 

It’s true - I’ve felt uncomfortably different at several points in my life. (Sometimes, I still do.) 

It has been proven time and time again that you can derail your confidence and progress by demeaning yourself for your differences. If that is true, then why do we all collectively continue to do so? 

Whether you realize it or not, we are all searching for what gives our lives meaning and a sense of purpose and fulfillment. This is commonly referred to as trying to “find happiness.” Unfortunately, society often teaches us we’ll only be happy by following the norms that make us the same as others. We are constantly encouraged to seek outside ourselves rather than connecting inward and being fulfilled by the things we are passionate about. 

As the CEO of a fast-growing, emerging company, I am often driving my ideas to the general public, investors, board members and so on. Over the years, it has not escaped me that most CEOs are typically white men in their 30’s living in Silicon Valley, and not first generation immigrants living in a small Florida beach town. However, I recognized that in denying my uniqueness, I was short-changing the very reason I was born - to be an entrepreneur and blaze my own path.

As an entrepreneur, the name of the game is to stand out. Embrace what makes you different. Be one of a kind. Because for every million great ideas, there will only be one Apple, Microsoft or Amazon. 

So what are you passionate about? What brings you happiness? Well, for me, I find happiness in giving back to those up-and-coming entrepreneurs who may also find themselves struggling to embrace what makes them special. 

In my limited spare time, I serve as a business mentor at GrowthMentor and the London Business School, helping young entrepreneurs learn how to design, launch and grow their own ventures. I have found there is nothing more rewarding than connecting with the next generation and seeing them flourish. Not only does it bring me happiness, but also it continually reinforces the notion that what you see as irregular, inherently is what makes you stand out. 

So how do we learn to embrace our irregularities? Unfortunately, humans are creatures of habit and changing direction can require some self-reflection and growing pains. Are you following someone else’s path instead of your own?  Are you seeking self-worth from the approval of others? Does your career lack satisfaction at the end of a long week?  

On occasion, it is all too easy to be transported back to those moments in which I resented the things that made me different. Lucky for me, I quickly learned that my time in the workforce gave me an edge that many of my peers who were fresh out of college did not have - experience. I was able to harness that real life experience and use it to my advantage, and in turn, embrace my own irregularities. As a firm believer in practicing what you preach, I’ve taken this notion and brought it to the forefront of my business, VEL. 

You may have noticed as a country, we are currently experiencing a paradigm shift within the workforce and the way we work. In a post-pandemic world, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of freelancers and remote workers, and this trend doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Flexible, hybrid or remote work has proven to work better for employees both with regards to productivity and happiness. Technologies such as video conferencing software, collaboration platforms, and cloud services have the capability to keep people connected anywhere, anytime. 

At VEL, we are embracing the irregular and championing this new normal. 

After many years of trying to work out of coffee shops, it became apparent that ultra-public workspaces cannot alone support the needs of our ever more remote and digital workforce. Today’s worker has to achieve a flow state faster. In catering to a general public’s needs, coffee shops are unable to specialize to any one person’s particular productivity needs. For the everyday remote worker, this becomes problematic.

That’s why I founded VEL, a meticulously engineered, cafe-oriented workspace with award-winning coffee, food to fuel, revolutionary workspaces and the technologies of tomorrow. VEL is a workspace that meets a person’s particular needs through a combination of onsite amenities and cutting edge workspace design. In short, our work cafe exists so that you can accomplish twice as much in half the time, then spend the change on life beyond the screen.

Whether you are reading this as an up-and-coming entrepreneur seeking guidance, a business owner lacking motivation, or perhaps you simply stumbled onto my page, remember to embrace your irregularities. Stand out in the crowd. Dare to be different - it’s what makes you special. 

In closing, I’ll leave you with another of my favorite quotes: 

“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out.” - Dr. Suess