dear crazy, deranged fools…

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Dear Crazy, Deranged Fools,
For a while, I’ve been thinking about what to call y’all collectively, i.e. the people who follow my work with regularity.
My friend, Jason Calacanis calls his regular readers “Jason Nation”. I thought that was very clever; I liked it a lot. Hey, it rhymes! In a similar exercise in wordplay, I thought about “Voidettes”, “Gapingvoiders”, “Hughtrainers” or whatever, but nothing really stuck. I guess that’s because these kind of names were “All About Hugh”. And, well, let’s face it, it isn’t all about me- you guys have your own stuff going on, as well. That’s what makes it interesting.
So what unites us? The answer came to me in flash this morning, in a blog post:

A. Most people work for the money. Most people wouldn’t do their jobs for free.
B. Most people hate their jobs.
But I’m not thinking about “Most People” right now. I’m thinking about the small percentage of the population who want to love their work; who want to find meaning in their work… and are willing to work like hell to find out how.
Those crazy, deranged fools…
How do they manage to exist? How dare they exist!
Are you one of them? Just curious…

A CrazyDerangedFool [CDF for short] is, like me, somebody who has the temerity to aspire to work in a way that produces both joy, meaning and contribution for both them and others, while also paying the bills. It’s about creativity, it’s about finding meaning, but it’s also about living in the real world. That’s the reality I want to live in, and from the vast quantities of e-mails and comments I get from y’all, that seems to be your game plan, as well.
I really liked what Ms Constantine said in the comments of the aforementioned post:

I’m working about 30 hours a week on top of my “day job” so that one day I’ll be able to do the work I love.
I’m currently doing the extra hours for free, so I’m kind of one of them.
Gotta pay the bills though.

Ms Constantine, that too has been my life for the last twenty years. I too am a CDF. This IS INDEED the crazy, deranged, foolish world of my own making that I chose to live in. And this IS INDEED the crazy, deranged, foolish world I will die in. I’ve already crossed the Rubicon. Alea iacta est. There is no going back. Ever.
With Love and Respect to You All,
Thank You. Seriously. Godspeed!
-Hugh MacLeod