Are You a Misfit? Why That Might Be Your Greatest Strength

What Hermey the Elf teaches us about entrepreneurship, resilience, and building stronger businesses.

Every Christmas, I have traditions.

There are songs I have to hear. Silent Night by the Temptations. Anything by Mariah Carey. Christmas Time from Charlie Brown. And there are certain shows I have to watch. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is one of them. A Charlie Brown Christmas is another.

This past Christmas, while watching Rudolph, I found myself paying attention to someone different.

Not Rudolph.

Hermey.

The elf who wanted to be a dentist.

And the more I watched him, the more I thought… Hermey would fit right into today’s world.

Maybe he was ahead of his time.

The Misfit in the Workshop

Hermey didn’t want to make toys.

He wanted to work on molars, bicuspids, and incisors.

In Santa’s workshop, that didn’t make sense. There was one job. One path. One expectation. The Boss Elf made that clear.

“Why weren’t you at elf practice?”

For many generations, security was the goal. Find a stable job. Work hard. Stay loyal. Collect a steady paycheck.

Even if you didn’t love it.

Hermey couldn’t do that.

He would rather walk into the unknown than stay somewhere that didn’t fit.

Some might say he was rebellious. Others might say he was unfocused.

But I see something different.

I see purpose.

Is It Rebellion… or Misalignment?

Some might call Hermey a quiet quitter. He did just enough to get by. He opened his dentistry book at work. He even tried working on a toy’s teeth during his shift.

But that wasn’t laziness.

It was misalignment.

When people are disconnected from purpose, performance drops. When they are connected to purpose, they come alive.

Hermey wasn’t unwilling to work.

He just didn’t want to work on the wrong thing.

That feels familiar in today’s workforce. Generation Z especially gets labeled as job-hoppers or resistant to traditional career paths.

But maybe it isn’t rebellion.

Maybe it’s clarity.

Technology has reshaped the workplace. AI is changing white-collar entry jobs. Automation continues to evolve. The future will belong less to repetition and more to problem solving, creativity, and adaptability.

Hermey didn’t want to assemble toys all day.

He wanted to solve a problem.

That mindset is entrepreneurial.

Sometimes the Misfit Is Just Early

I understand Hermey more than I realized.

Years ago, I was a manager at Friedman's Jewelers. It was stable. It was secure. On paper, it made sense.

But I was burnt out.

There was something in me that wouldn’t settle.

So I started a business on the side before “side hustle” was even a phrase people used. When the opportunity came, I stepped away from security and went all in.

It started strong. Then we overextended in a difficult economy. Eventually, we had to shut it down.

At first, I was bitter. I blamed my partners.

With time and maturity, I realized I had lessons to own too.

That season shaped me more than the success ever did.

After that, I went back into the workforce and sold cars for several years. And honestly, at first I enjoyed not carrying the weight of ownership. No payroll. No overhead. No constant pressure beyond my own production.

But about a year in… the itch came back.

Some people are wired for stability.

Others are wired to build.

That doesn’t make one better than the other.

It just makes them different.

Over time, that journey led me into agency ownership, and eventually into becoming an independent agent. And I can say confidently, I love what I do.

Looking back, I don’t call those earlier seasons losses anymore.

I call them lessons.

Had I not stepped away from comfort, had I not walked through the valley, I would not be where I am today.

Sometimes the misfit isn’t broken.

Sometimes he’s just early.

The Bumble Moment

In Rudolph, Hermey proves his value when he removes the Bumble’s teeth. What looked like rebellion becomes a solution.

The North Pole didn’t realize they needed a dentist until they needed one.

That’s often how innovation works.

The misfit sees something others don’t.

Entrepreneurship works the same way. Strong small business leadership often comes from people who didn’t quite fit into the traditional mold.

The future belongs to problem solvers.

A Word to Business Owners

If you own a business, you live in tension.

You want to take care of your employees.

You also have to protect cash flow.

You balance payroll, overhead, growth, hiring, and uncertainty. That is the reality of small business leadership.

I understand that tension because I’ve lived it.

What I’ve learned is this: when structured wisely, what’s good for employees can also be good for employers.

The right benefits strategy for small businesses is not about adding expenses just to compete. It’s about building stability.

Thoughtful group health insurance options can improve employee retention. They can reduce absenteeism. They can help your team feel secure, which often translates into stronger performance and loyalty.

When employees are not worried about unexpected medical costs, they show up differently.

Benefits are not just expenses on a spreadsheet.

When designed properly, they are tools that strengthen both people and profit.

If you are exploring group health insurance options, life coverage, dental, vision, accident, or cancer policies for your team, I would be honored to have a conversation with you.

Not a sales pitch.

Just a conversation about what makes sense for your business and your budget.

You can learn more atwww.proficeifs.com

Or call 662-657-4344.

Profice Insurance & Financial Services LLC.

Because sometimes being a misfit is exactly what prepares you to see solutions others miss.

And if you are building something meaningful, you do not have to figure it out alone.