Obscurity can feel like a curse. In a sense it is. The thing is, whatever we create, we create with the intention of making some sort of difference.
Whether you’re a creative or leader, nothing you ever create will make a difference unless you release to do so. This means letting your work out. It is preparing a feast for critics.
Nothing you do will ever be relevant without it seeing the light of day. Nothing will ever be perfect. Anyone and everything that has touched and changed the world has done so with infirmity.
Whether apparent or subtle the weaknesses never got in the way of bringing some sort of change. Focus on infirmity and inadequacy has sapped power from many to make significant change.
These are some of the reasons you must love obscurity.
Obscurity is an opportunity. Yes, you read that right. Obscurity is an opportunity to get better. It is an opportunity to build structure for sustained success.
Related:
Many plan more for possible failure in the pursuit of success than for the success they pursue.
Obscurity is a great thing in its place, allowing you to build a platform that will uphold your success. For obscurity to work for you, you need to ask questions:
Success
Obscurity is a great time for defining what your success is like. Too many pursue success with too vague of a picture. Is success as you see it understood by your team or family the same? By those who matter?
How are you going to sustain your success? How are you going to stay poised for innovation?
Not Just You
Innovators can be intense. Sometimes, at the expense of those close to them and their families. One of the questions you need to ask yourself in consultation with relationships that matter, is “what measures do we need to put in place to maintain healthy relationships when the cloud of obscurity lifts?”
Fighting myopia must never be restricted to your work. It is important for every area of your life. You are not as fragmented as you like to tell yourself. Everything about you is connected.
[image by Mark Fischer | cc]