Three reasons why sharing old messages again is worth it
y writing is not original. Neither is my design work. I don't plagiarise, to be sure. But I'm pretty confident everything I put down has been thought of before. Even worse: it's all so obvious. So why keep going?
It's thoughts such as these that are at the heart of many a creator's imposter syndrome. What makes them so hard to ignore is that they are objectively correct. And still, if you are a creator, I implore you to keep going because - as with many objective truths - their actual nature depends on your perspective and personal needs.
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his morning, I read a post in Marty Cagan's blog that sounded almost apologetic or defensive. Marty is one of the most eminent product thinkers of our time, with a blog read by everyone I work with and two books that have defined industry standards. Yet somehow, he still feels the need to defend his work.
In his most recent post, he describes his interactions with two segments of his audience who feel his advice doesn't need further propagating: those who have already fully bought into and applied most of it and those to whom it represents an utterly unachievable utopia. Both groups do not know of each other and assume the rest of the world thinks and operates as they do.
Marty reminded me that what is obvious to some is most likely news to others.
How do your friends and family think about your work? They might not be deeply impressed, but they support your work as one supports a loved one's hobby. Even if you have an audience, that doesn't count for much because these days, anyone can have an audience and people on the internet are gullible - you can hear them think.
The lesson I learned from Marty applies here too. What you create is not news to those closest to you who you might seek validation from. Chances are they have been exposed to your work for some time. Maybe you've disseminated the same thoughts you are now putting down with them years ago. Maybe you operate in very similar spheres, so their influences have a large overlap with yours. The result is that what you produce is not news to them. It's obvious. But remember, it might not be obvious to others.
I can only guess at Marty's motivations. Though, my assumption is that part of what drives him to keep being an advocate for what others feel to be common sense is the same as what drives me when I become the thousandth person to talk about how to build a personal brand or to write about why you think your drawings suck: We will keep going until these things are common sense for everyone.
This is not to sound like some product or creativity warrior. I certainly don't assume I'm smarter than anyone else. My experiences have equipped me with one set of insights, and someone else's would greatly benefit me. But as long as I keep observing folks who might benefit from what is obvious to me (and those close to me), there is value in sharing those insights.
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t takes time and repetition for a thought to find application. Most things aren't learned by hearing them once. Lessons to be learned follow a certain path. You hear them once, twice, three times, many times over, passively experiencing them. Gradually, you take them in, engage with the thoughts, mull them over. They slip your mind until you hear them again. Finally, you make an effort to apply them yourself, first, as an experiment. Several attempts follow. Maybe you forget about them again for a while and start the path over. Eventually, you've applied them often enough for them to become instinctive behaviour.
To really take a thought or lesson on board requires hearing/reading/seeing them over and over again, through different media, in different people's words, and to finally live them and make them your own. As a creator, you can play a tiny part in other people's journey of learning and understanding. You can be part of the cycle of continuous reinforcement. Because what is obvious in theory might not find application in practice; knowing an idea is one thing, but applying it is another. Until you find the lessons you believe in applied by everyone around you, there is a place for them to continue to be expressed in your words.
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lain de Botton is a philosopher, author, and founder of the School of Life. One could say - and my friends who dislike his work do - that he has made a career from perpetuating the obvious. Yet, my shelves are filled with his work. Why? I suspect the reason has to do with empathy.
When we hear or read personal thoughts which aren't often expressed or ideas we don't get to discuss often enough, it simply feels good to hear them again. It shows us that others feel and think the same thoughts and ideas and that we are not alone in our troubles and passions. And it certainly helps when this happens in a highly engaging medium or eloquent rendition. For we might have felt the same but lacked the exact words to express ourselves well enough.
There is value in reiterating the obvious. Not just to create a reminder but to facilitate a sense of shared experience.
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Probably, your thoughts aren't original. But not everyone has heard or read them when they need to or in your particular voice. Not everyone has truly understood, internalised and applied them at every opportunity. Until this is the case, sharing your work matters.
