The Outsiders
I’ve listened to a lot of interview podcasts, you probably have too. Most of the time the interviewer is asking about the guest’s story…how they got to where they are.
One commonality to every one of those interviews is that no one ever claims to have been an insider…rather, everyone talks about how they’ve always felt like an outsider.
(Even after having success, they still feel like an outsider, like an imposter.)
So if that’s the way you feel too, you join the ranks of some pretty good company.
But feeling like an insider or outsider (and oscillating between the two) pales in importance to simply deciding to do the work and deciding to make an important contribution.
How Many People Are Famous?
It’s a good question. Not because the actual answer is necessarily important or interesting…but because it immediately points to other thoughts and questions…
What does it mean to be famous?
You can be famous to one group of people and not another.
What’s the minimum threshold to be called famous?
There are probably levels of fame...something like: local celeb, pretty famous, super famous, worldwide superstar.
Who decides when someone is famous?
In order for you to be famous, does someone have to be removed from fame?
What’s the maximum amount of people who could be famous at once before the next most popular person is simply popular but not famous?
All of these off-shoot questions that arise when you ask people ‘How many people are famous’…the core question they actually want to contemplate and come to an answer about is, ‘Can I be famous too’. And that is always an interesting conversation.
A Little Something
Show up with a little something. An idea, a story, a spark, a sneaky grin.
Whether it’s a writing session, recording session, big meeting, small meeting…have something up your sleeve.
It doesn’t take that much extra prep but it makes a huge difference for both you and the others.
It’s not hard to have an idea worth sharing…the obstacle is getting in the habit of doing it.
So show up on time. Show up with a little something.
If You're Stuck...
When you go out and do things, things happen.
And when things happen it opens the door for the unexpected, the new, the random, the surprises…which will make you think new things. Things you would have never thought if you hadn’t gotten out there and done something.
As simple as going on a walk, as lavish as a road trip across the country.
When you do things, things happen and then you think new things.
So if you’re stuck (creatively, mentally, relationally)…move.
They're A Great Team
It’s always feels beneficial to talk about your current task as though it’s difficult.
That way if you succeed you get the glory of achieving something you talked up as difficult.
And if you don’t succeed you’ve already laid the path for your excuse. No one can blame you for falling short of something difficult.
(This is why sports teams always talk publicly about how great their opponents are. That way if they win, they beat a great team. If they lose, they lost to a great team.)
On the flip side…If you talk about your current task as though it’s easy…then if you succeed, there’s not a whole lot of glory for achieving something easy. And if you fail, now you look even worse because you failed at something easy. So people rarely talk about their job, projects, tasks, duties, or plans this way. There’s just not enough pay off for acting like and talking like ‘This is gonna be easy for me’.
The more valuable alternative is talking about your current task as, ‘This is my thing, I’ll take care of it’…and then just taking care of it. No crazy emotion. No talking it up or down. No excuses. No drama.