Sublime

The received wisdom, articulated in a thousand magazine articles and inspirational Instagram memes, is that it’s always a crime to settle. But the received wisdom is wrong. You should definitely settle.

Bring the troublemaker Before every sprint, we ask: Who might cause trouble if he or she isn’t included? We don’t mean people who argue just for the sake of arguing. We mean that smart person who has strong, contrary opinions, and whom you might be slightly uncomfortable with including in your sprint.

And extremism doesn’t sell. Ever. Every elected official knows this in his or her bones—the mainstream is the place to be.

Open-minded people are more curious about why there is disagreement.

Defining your thinking and ideas as the opposite of the status quo can successfully offer a twist that sets them apart.

It’s not often that we hear alternative perspectives that drastically differ from our own. We tend to hang out with people who are like us, who share our beliefs, values, and habits. We associate within the bounds of where we belong. So simply being the atypical voice allows you to enrich.