Until recently I haven't know many people who aim to be "influencers" or who admire them in any capacity. On the contrary, I (and some of my closest friends) believe in the decentralization of power, and that means that we are able to see the beauty and genius of those right in front of us for what it's worth, regardless of whether the rest of the world sees it. We don't assume someone has so much more to teach just because they are considered an authority by others. We don't care about how many instagram followers has or even what certificate they might have. We feel the weight of their message and give them credit solely on that.
I have always been hesitant to "lead" because leaders tap into the tendency others have to follow. That is how "influencers" influence. They tap into others readiness to fall into sheep mentality. They're message and cause may be just, but that's rarely what convinces someone, especially not those who become household names. The fact that others know and respect them is far more powerful than what they actually do or say.
The more I try to find a way to fit into this society, or at least be able to interact within it, the more I realize this paradigm is too strong to break. People are so used to the packaging, that when something comes without it, they don't even notice it. "He studied ____ at _____" "She ran her own business for 15 years" "She's worked with artists such as ______ and ______".
It doesn't matter if she failed out of school, if he ran his business into the ground or if she was just a driver for those artists, the package is what pulls people in. "Telling a story"...authenticity may be more valuable and even more convincing, but it's something that is so foreign to some people that it is often overlooked. People need to be led to feel how they feel. That is the society we live in.
There are some people who love radiohead because they write awesome songs...but I'm willing to bet that the majority of people who love radiohead care more about the fact that they know it's a cool band to like. Usually it's somewhere in between. How many other amazing bands are there like radiohead which never became famous though? Countless!
It's not the society that I want to live in, but I suppose that's just how it is. I could try my best to get used to playing the game....I have another method though. I'm just going to do more, do it better, do it louder, do it brighter. If people see, they see. If they appreciate it, they appreciate it. If not, they don't. If not, I'll have to find ways to do even more and even better.
You really think you need to be famous before you can change the world? You are already changing it with every single thing that you do. It's easy to see what famous and rich people are doing for the world because they have an impact on so many people, but how deep and profound is that impact? How honest is that impact? How much of it is out of love? The fact is, you were probably more influenced by one of your teachers than by your favorite singer. Who gets the credit though?
I don't know how to package what i do, and I don't want to package what I do. Instead, I'm just going to focus on what I'm doing and if people don't get it, it wasn't meant to be. They will. Somehow.
I think in the end, there is nothing noble about fame, but there is nothing noble about avoiding it either. The best thing is to ignore it and just focus on what it is you want to put your energy into. If it fails, regroup and re-assess and get back to work.
You get it.
Onwards and upwards.
Just keep doing the things you love to do the way you like to do them. It's uniqueness that counts! ✨
I think I told you before that I find changing the world way too much work. I just like making people's worlds better ;D
It doesn't matter if people don't get what you're doing because for a moment you punched them out of their narrow-minded world views and that's going to haunt them forever and sometimes that's all you need to do.