Learn how to really stand out of a crowd!

I can’t say enough thanks to Dan Walderschmidt for seeing the beauty in being different. I just read an article he wrote after his TedX experience called “Success Starts With You Being Different“and I have never read something before that completely encapsulated my whole mission statement.

And… he said it in only 6 easy steps.

1. Being different won’t kill you…
2. Being different will get you noticed…
3. Being different won’t have people outwardly lauding you… (at first)
4. Being different secretly makes people respect you…
5. Being different probably won’t get you the incremental job promotions…
6. Being different positions you best to be able to change the world…

I couldn’t have said it better Dan… I also was at TEDxGreenville and it was somewhat of a memory of a time when I lived in Greenville, had blue hair and found out that it wasn’t accepted to be different and very tough to find any respect in certain communities. I went through tons of tough times and lots of teary bedtimes after run in’s with people who would make rude comments or generally avoid me at all costs…that’s when I thought I would never fit in anywhere, I almost dyed my hair back to normal. That’s when I met TimTV and he inspired me to just be myself and that’s when my blog Destructo Deviations started to showcase the different side of Greenville. A year later I have learned that just being myself has made me stand out of the crowd and more opportunities than I can count.

I personally think the strongest people in this world are people who take the time to understand others, to let different become normal and to realize that the best qualities of someone is generally something that makes them stand out. Why not make your whole self your best quality?

Miss Destructo is Yammin it Up In Greenville from Miss Destructo on Vimeo.

As most of you know I just traveled to Greenville, South Carolina…. Why was I there? Because of Bruce’s Yams of course… to return back to the place where all the yamsanity began for me. I made this very special video for all the Bruce’s Yams fans and to tell a little bit more about the story behind the blue haired gal who tweets and types for Bruce’s Yams.

Attending the “idea” conference TedxGreenville was only the marshmellow fluff on the casserole for me. Tedx was a great place to share my Bruce’s Yam story with others to help inspire and spread the word about our favorite food.

At the end of the video I held a get together of a bunch of Bruce’s Yams fans and my friends in Greenville, South Carolina. The Yam-A-Palooza tweetup (twitter meetup) was a hit and many great ideas came from it. I can’t wait to have a contest to see who can make the best yam cocktails and t-shirt designs now! You may even see us (the cans, not me) at the media conference SXSW next week! I am now realizing the possibilities for yams are endless and people are willing to help start the spreading the word in their towns. Yams are a becoming of a trendy item, i’ve even heard of people going on multi city scavenger hunts to find a can of Bruce’s Yams!

Thank you all for the support and keeping me fueled with new ideas, if you have a cool yam themed event or something sweet potato related (festivals, personalities or whatever!) let me know, I might just show up in YOUR town for the next yamventure!

Oh, yes. And there’s a special yam dance I made just for you all in the video… feel free to make your own yam dance and send it to me!

Thanks again for being a fan of Bruce’s Yams and Miss Destructo!

Stay yamtastic,

The past week I learned that nothing is impossible, or yampossible it seems. About a year ago, I was in Greenville, SC… unemployed and pretty much starving when I discovered canned yams at the local discount foods store. I started eating yams (sweet potatoes) pretty much everyday, straight out of the can for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While my strange food habit became sort of associated with me through my tweets on twitter, I wondered if I could possibly take my love for yams into a career. So I started the “Will Work For Yams” campaign on my website and twitter.

I sent Bruce’s Foods an email, with no reply. Then my writer/actor friend Brian Spaeth got involved, a four page and very crazy yam manifesto to Bruce’s Foods on why they should hire me. Then I got a very cryptic email from Bruce’s “Why Bruce’s Yams?” is all it said. So I wrote this blog post…. “The Power of Yams.” to explain my love for yams. A few emails back and forth with Bruce’s and a month later, this HUGE box of Bruce’s Yams products showed up at my door. You can watch the video of that madness here… “May is the Month of The Yam”

Anyways, I thought that would be the end of hearing from Bruce’s Foods… until a few weeks ago that is. I then received an email from Bruce’s… “Hey, you want to do our social media?”….*record screech* WHAT!?!?!

Long story short… I just got back from New Iberia, Louisiana and had a wonderful time visiting Bruce’s Foods and the great state of Louisiana. Great company, good people and southern hospitality to the max! (I got to stay in the old estate of the owner of Bruce’s Foods!)

You can see all my photos and video from the trip here… “Miss Destructo’s Yamventure”

I’ll now be actually “working for yams” and running the Bruce’s Yams Twitter and Facebook accounts. Fan us and follow us to hear me yammer’in about yams all day.

Bruce’s Yams on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/brucesyams

Bruce’s Yams on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/bruces.yams

Again if you have a goal…. follow it and never give up. Good things come to those who wait, be persistant but be patient.

We get some pretty interesting questions over here at Missdestructo.com, I figured it was about time to answer two really “pressing” questions.

If you have any questions that I can answer, send them over and maybe i’ll do a video post answering your question!

And yes.. that’s my real hair. It’s blue.

Cpt. Spauldad teaches me the origins of Christmas while making a bottle of wine disappear. I am so glad I didn’t show him this article. The True Meaning Of Christmas

Update 01/03/10: This story (and my little blue head) was featured on CNN Headline News today!

Update: 12/31/09: JFK Library is now doing research into the photos. Will know more in a few weeks, also the media has picked up the story as well. Miss Destructo with JFK Photos on ABC News -Watch the video here!

Update 12/29/09: Thank you for all the great feedback on these photos. So far our greatest lead is the photographer is possibly Cecil Stoughton who was JFK’s personal photographer and lived/died in FL in his later years. I have also contacted the JFK library for further information.

Today Mr. D and I were at our favorite thrift store and we stumbled upon a collection of 8×10 original archival photos from CBS featuring design manager Lou Dorfsman (He branded CBS and designed the eye) many of the photos were labeled with “My boss Lou Dorfsman” and seemed to be of CBS staff.  Then further on down the pile I stopped as my jaw dropped at the sight of President John F. Kennedy doing what seems to be an interview, many of these are candid shots printed on 8×10 with archival numbers scratched on the back in pencil.

See more photos after the jump….

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