Even though from an early age, I knew I was different from almost everyone around me, I spent a good part of my life trying to be conventional. To hide my true self, I wore all the masks that society expected of me. It wasn’t until my retirement years that I fully began to live a life that was true to me. I threw off my masks, maybe too quickly for some, but that is as it is.

When you move out of the mainstream and into a world of your own making, you inevitably have labels attached to you. Some will call you eccentric, others outright crazy. Let’s face it, many people think that anything that is spontaneous is irrational.

We all, to one degree or another, want to be recognized for something we are good at. Many times that isn’t accomplished until we free ourselves from trying to meet other’s expectations. To me, Einstein is the perfect example of living on his own terms. He did things that he enjoyed. He never wore socks and bragged about it. He ate grasshoppers to gross out his friends. One fact that most are not aware of is that he bled to death because he didn’t allow the operation to stop the bleeding. He just thought he had lived all the years that he was meant to, so he let nature take its course.

I can tell you from personal experiences that you will likely wait far too long to let your true self shine. I wished I had done it years before. I love being quirky. It’s a label I proudly wear.

Finally, the only problem with waiting until your retirement years to let your true self shine is that makes it more likely that your kids will try to use that to prove that you are not “of sound mind or body” and try to take all your money from you. 😎