Incongruous tendencies — traits that we don’t naturally associate with one another — are what make people interesting.

Think of Walter White in Breaking Bad — the family man and high school teacher turned homicidal drug lord. Or Richard Feynman — the physics genius who played the bongos, cracked his colleagues' safes for a laugh while working on the Manhattan project, and often did his work in strip clubs, scribbling equations on napkins.

How about Warren Buffett? The avuncular billionaire still lives in Omaha in a house he bought for $31,000 in 1958. These people are interesting because they defy our one-dimensional mental models of what a teacher, physicist, or investor “should” be like.

The magnetism of irreconcilable tendencies can also be true with brands and products. In their halcyon days, for example, what made Bang and Olufsen so special was the juxtaposition of clean, teutonic aesthetics with playful interaction design.

Eccentricities and idiosyncrasies are more likely to be strengths than weaknesses. They make you, your brand, or product interesting, so don't be afraid of them.

There is tremendous upside in simply being interesting — far more than being dull just to fit in or appear "professional".

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