When I first started blogging, a deep sense of shame kept me from telling anybody for the first three months. I knew nobody else who blogged and confessing to having deep thoughts seemed like an open door to harsh criticism. This was six years ago.
I almost didn’t publish yesterday’s newsletter for the same reason.
As children, we are rewarded for fitting in as much as possible. Schools reward A’s to students who reach the same answer as everybody else. Teenagers, especially girls, shame each other for acting or dressing differently. All parents have the same goal for their children, to attend a great college on a scholarship. School is at its essence, a seventeen year lesson in acting “normal.”
It’s no wonder that many adults feel a sense of existential fear when we do anything that might draw attention. That job interviews make us nervous, or that we describe public speaking as brave, and that cold-calling feels risky.
The important thing to realize is that life is not this way by accident. Schools, as they exist today, are an artifact of the 18th century, the height of the industrial revolution. We invented schools to keep kids out of factories on the promise that obedient adults would become better factory workers.
It was not until very recently that the forces of automation and globalization decimated our economic system. Businesses are no longer rewarded for cheaper and faster, and employees are no longer rewarded for obedience and logical thinking. The era of mass-production has reached its conclusion.
Today, creativity and vulnerability are at the crux of every successful business decision.
Customers no longer want products that are cheap and average, they want unique and interesting. Building a successful business today begins by identifying a tribe, and building a brand worthy of their loyalty.
Once a business has found a tribe, it’s not enough to be liked. Unlike high school, the goal is for the tribe to want to talk about you. This includes taking bold stances on divisive issues that are important to them. If you understand your tribe, then it is easy to foresee how controversies can potentially affect your brand. You may even be surprised to discover some controversy can be a brand booster.
I started yesterday's newsletter writing
In many ways, my college experience was like what you’d see on TV: filled with sex, drugs, and parties. In other ways atypical, I imagine most people haven’t fallen off roofs.
It was terrifying to publish, but removing the paragraph wasn’t an option. Because the moment you begin watering down your work, you’ve lost your edge.
To be truly unique, you need to understand where your fear comes from and how to respond. The moment you no longer feel it is the moment you’ve stopped pushing the boundaries.
Do things that scare you.