Are You Remarkable?

Seth Godin writes in Purple Cow

If you’re remarkable, it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise – ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.

Probably the scariest thing about putting yourself out there is the fear of what “they” might say. They might be your spouse, your parents…I’ve even had clients tell me they feared what their competitor might say.

Where did you learn to fail? If you’re like most Americans, you learned in first grade. That’s when you started figuring out that the safe thing to do was to fit in . . .

Are you going to continue to play it safe? Not stand out? Not be remarkable?

Playing it safe. Following the rules. Those seem like the best ways to avoid failure. And in school, they may very well be. Alas, these rules set a pattern for most people (like your boss?), and that pattern is awfully dangerous. These are the rules that ultimately lead to failure.

Think about it.