Roughly one-fifth of Americans are smokers.
Every time you walk behind one, enter a building where one is lighting up outside, or sit next to one on a bus, you notice.
You smell them. They stand out. You can’t miss them. You can’t ignore them. They are unmistakable. It’s impossible for them to pass by without you noticing them.
So why don’t you start smoking?
Don’t go buy a pack of Marlboros. This is a metaphor, my friends. Smoking is doing something different, something noteworthy, something people can’t help but notice.
In this metaphor, we’re under a few assumptions: figurative smoking doesn’t kill you, it doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, you don’t have to go outside to do it, and it costs you no money.
Why don’t you start doing something worth noticing? Stop letting hurdles, laziness, and the status quo be excuses for blending in.
I’m sorry if I’ve confused you. Maybe this metaphor isn’t working for you. Let’s take it a few steps further and clear the cloud (see what I did there?).
Here’s how figurative smoking is exactly like literal smoking: it’s addicting. Once you start standing out, making a difference, rejecting the norm for something better, you won’t be able to stop. You’ll see the impact on people’s lives, the change in your own life, and the joy that each of the aforementioned will bring you.
Second, it creates a common bond. The figurative smoking room is full of other great people. When you find this group of likeminded, difference-making individuals, you’ll wonder how you ever made it without them.
People will notice. When you start telling people at your job (or college) that a spot at the top of corporate america isn’t your dream, or that you want to work for a non-profit, or that you’re quitting cubicles to follow your passion, you’re going to get everything from high-fives to critics harsher than Simon Cowell. People who don’t smoke don’t like the way it smells. Don’t expect them to understand. Be cordial, and pray that someday they come visit you in the smoker’s lounge.
So, when are you going to stop blending in and start smoking?