I related immensely to David Rendall’s creative manifesto “FREAK FACTOR: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness". The purpose of Rendall’s article is to open people’s eyes to their flaws and weaknesses as well as their strengths. Instead of advising individuals to overcome their downfalls, he stresses the importance of embracing our weaknesses and combining them with our strengths. I absolutely adore the term that he uses to name the people who have mastered embracing their flaws as well as their strengths; “freaks”. I really just love this term because prior to reading this manifesto, I too would often refer to geniuses and creative innovators as ‘freaks’ in a positive way. Rendall claims that this term perfectly describes these creative masters because they possess an uncanny obsession for pursuing their dreams and achieving success in that particular field. He provides us with shout outs to successful intellects that have conquered their positive and negative traits and made a name for themselves, such as Richard Branson and David Neeleman. So, what are my favorite suggestions that Rendall provides? That, my friends, is a hard question to answer. I had to narrow down my favorite of his nine points to three of them mentioned below.
1. Flawless: There’s Nothing Wrong With You
Rendall mentions that every person has both positive and negative characteristics that are impossible to separate. I agree with this idea that mankind has a perfect balance of imperfections, meaning that all people are flawed; both a mystery and a beauty that I find awe-inspiring. We need to be able to use our flaws and gifts together to create, but we first need to recognize our strengths and weaknesses. Rendall provides a chart with examples of positive and negative characteristics and, as mentioned above, he even references celebrities and successful business people who have made their strengths and weaknesses one. This made me think of a quick list of my positive and negative attributes so that I could reflect on them and make them one in harmony together. A few negative points about me: I am stubborn, anxious, a worry wart and I tend to become obsessed with certain things to the point where if I don’t accomplish the task and/or goal that I am investing all of my time thinking about, I become flustered. On the other hand, some positive aspects about me are that I am compassionate, hardworking, dependable, loyal and conscientious. I strive to practice linking together these traits to develop my own value system and reach my full potential.
2. Forget It: Don’t Try To Fix Your Weaknesses
This idea seems so unorthodox at first glance. Don’t fix your weaknesses? What about all of those years that I was taught to eliminate all of those bad habits as a kid and focus on becoming a more powerful individual? After reading this suggestion, I felt that allowing yourself to acknowledge your weaknesses and leave them be is the most rational idea one could ever think of. I found it so odd that 59% of people responded in a survey that they believed in the eliminating of personal weaknesses as an essential part of personal development. I especially found the response odd since there are many individuals in the world that who have used their disabilities to their advantage and help others in the process. Rendall states that the ultimate fact that we all must come to face is that “we all have limitations”. We are by no means invincible and we must always be aware of our mortality.
3. Fit: Find The Right Spot
In order to clarify this point, Rendall uses the classic children’s story Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer to better clarify his message about learning to fit in. Just as Rudolph was different than the other reindeer, we too are freaks of our own nature. Every human being on Earth has different interests, backgrounds, skills and personalities. We must learn to take our abnormal talents and apply them to the world. The biggest rule of life is that we must NEVER TRY TO CHANGE OURSELVES TO ‘FIT IN’. The biggest sin that we can commit against ourselves is to try to cover up our inner freak, just as Rudolph and his parents did with putting a black rubber cone on his nose. I know that when I was young I had a hard time talking with my friends about my interests in filmmaking and art, simply because they were not interested in the subjects. When I came to college, however, I met a huge group of people who I was able to discuss art and filmmaking with since they also had a passion for the subjects. We must let our inner freak shine like Rudolph did as he guided Santa’s sleigh and light the way for ourselves. Only when we follow our freaktastic selves are we able to find our place in the world.
Throughout my Media and The Creative Process course I have recognized my strengths and weaknesses. One of my weaknesses lies within some collaborative work when a group of people or an individual provides me with constructive criticism. This weakness must be combined with my strengths such as my determination and passion, which will allow me to better embrace creative criticism and recognize the compassion that others are exhibiting towards my work. Another weakness that I have discovered is that I tend to think too much on the far right side of my brain than I do on my left. The meshing together of my negative and positive traits will also aid me in making more logical decisions for my artistic endeavors by using the left hemisphere of the ole’ noggin.
Overall this manifesto proved to be the most useful since it allowed me to rummage through my brain and examine myself in a deeper way that will ultimately guide me to success.
And so, in closing, don’t be afraid to be called a ‘freak’; you will only be in denial.
