The quest for originality in a world that has seen it all.
There is no more originality, everything has been done so what is the point?
The question ringing out in the minds of new creatives and content creators as they all look for a piece of the social media pie and attention hoping that they too can become famous.
However, what if it was not about becoming famous, what if fame was only a by-product of purpose-whether that purpose be to entertain or inform? In an attempt to become somebody people often lose sight of purpose which is much more long lasting than instant success or fame which they crave.
Sir Isaac Newton was famous for saying: “If I have seen further it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants”.
If that is the case, then in todays world we have the chance to stand taller and see further than anybody ever before in history, never before have paths to success been so clearly cut out, never before has information on becoming skilled been so readily available.
Certainly, the boundary to access has been lower, but making a success online has become harder some people may argue. Yet, although the mountain remains high it is certainly not unscalable. Certainly, history provides us with a few examples:
On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest despite the efforts of many before them to achieve this.
In 1954 Roger Banister broke the 4 minute mile, which athletes before him had thought to be impossible as nobody had done it before. Yet, after he had done it many followed after him.
These old examples are reminders that it does not matter what the barrier is, the barrier itself is psychological and can be broken. Limits seem to be unbreakable, until someone comes along and breaks them, because they believe that limits can be broken. This belief is fuelled by a strong why, a strong sense of purpose. We may have it within us to do something and see somebody else has already done it, however that should not deter us but inspire us as each persons purpose is as unique as their fingerprint. People come from different family lives, communities, cultures and backgrounds and as such everybody's voice is unique, and everybody's voice has an audience. The fact that so many people have walked a trail to online success should inspire us not cause us dismay.
Your potential and success is enhanced by the success that has already gone before you, by their ideas, by their methods and by their talents. By following diligently in their footsteps you will reach the summit of what has been achieved. Then it becomes your journey, the protégé becomes the pioneer as the amalgamated knowledge of those before you becomes a stepping stone to your unique success.
Therefore, it is important not to despise humble beginnings as these are the seeds of greatness. As cliché as that sounds it is important to remember that even those who are now successful were once unknown, working hard behind the scenes to become who they are.
There may be nothing that seems to be original in an online world with content for almost any topic but that should not take away from the originality and uniqueness of your purpose and your why. As your desire to see change only becomes purpose when the potential of the idea is turned into productive action.
A world with a myriad of content, and wide guides for success can only produce more uniqueness and success not stagnation, but only to those who attempt to push beyond those barriers which seem to be insurmountable.
Only to those who attempt to climb the mountain, will the future reveal itself as a land of opportunity and possibility.
If I have seen further it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants, which enables me to create my own unique version of tomorrow.
Pictures by:
Andrew Neel, RODNAE Productions, Gelgas Airlangga from Pexels
