The Nerdist Way_ How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) - Chris Hardwick [1]
The explosive popularity of the Internet, video games, and smartphone technology has made this formerly feeble cluster of pasty virgins “cool.” The same jocks/bullies who pushed us around in school now carry around cell phones, have desktops, laptops, a DVR, DSLR cameras, and Xboxes (Xbocies?); they know what “3G” is. The war is over. The Nerds have won. This was no accident. The Nerd uprising can be attributed to an unnatural ability to obsess and focus when others would be content with “letting it go.”
If you are a part of now-glamorous Nerd Herd subculture but still feel like you’re waiting to claim your gold cup at the top of the social food chain, then I am here to help you. I shall attempt, through the primitive form of communication known as “writing,” to help you milk your Nerdy attributes into a delicious and useful pulp. By the end, you will hopefully know more about who you are, why you should be comfortable with that, and how to leverage those attributes into getting the things you want (you will hopefully also figure out what exactly that is). Oh, and achieving happiness. That’s kind of a big one, too.
You don’t have to be a stereotypical geekwad to give yourself over to the philosophical tenets of Nerdism, the ideology for us obsessive types. All one needs is a willingness to hone his or her innate ability for overanalysis and hyper-self-awareness—A QUALITY NERDS ALREADY POSSESS—and use it for GOOD. Playing Call of Duty for twenty-three hours straight is cool and all, but I’m going to teach you, my fellow Nerds, how to also spend time on things in your life that will get you the following two things: PAID and LAID. (That rhymes, Marge, and YOU KNOW it rhymes.) Or at least better equipped to get out of your own way and be productive with the likely result of the paying and laying thing (which sounded incredibly douchey when I read it back aloud).
SCHWAAA???
There are Nerds, and then there are Nerdists. A Nerdist is, more specifically, an artful Nerd. He or she doesn’t just consume, he or she creates and innovates. (Unintentional rhyme this time. ← On purpose that time.) Freelancers, game designers, graphic designers, DMs (Dungeon Masters), musicians, artists, crafties, and writers are all examples of Nerdists. Yes, we obsess over things, but we are also driven to produce stuff. It may not be surprising, then, to hear (with your eyes, since you’re reading this) that I refer to Nerdists as “creative obsessives.” The technology explosion in the Information Age has allowed us to flourish, whereas even as recently as fifteen years ago we would have had to get jobs that devoured our souls and pooped them out into little cubes, with little recourse for pursuing our Nerdly passions in any professional capacity. OUR TIME IS NOW. It’s actually cool to be smart—REWARDED even! It is a Golden Age for Nerds. It is our time to THRIVE. You can be a thriver (even though that word itself creeps me out for some reason)!
As the founder of Nerdism (your new object of worship), I have long been fascinated by productivity and what motivates people to achieve greatness. The Internet is the great equalizer. We all have access to the same data at all times, so there are fewer excuses. How do some people break through while others remain miserable and inert? I ask this question a lot. I have spent even more time trying to ascertain the answer(s).
“Well, who the fuck do you think you are, Chris Hardwick, comedian, former dating show host, current cable host, and pod-caster? Why should I listen to even one crappy word you say?” First off, you’re very aggressive. Second, good questions. I have been a lifelong Nerd. As a youth, I was a Nerd in the unironic era of the 1980s when it wasn’t a cool buzzword yet. Talk of chess club and D&D could get you stuffed in a trash can. Let me rephrase that: One day after chess club, I got stuffed in a trash can. It is this type of experience that motivates