Separate Yourself from the Pack

From a recent posting on linkedin: How do you separate yourself from the pack, without being dismissed as a kook or a caricature? Everyone wants to differentiate themselves, and express their own uniqueness. Being true to yourself is the foundation of integrity, and it takes courage to express unique viewpoints within any career path. No matter who you are, being authentic should be everyone's goal...but what can ensure that "authentic individualism" is taken seriously, and not dismissed as "crazy talk"? The line between "prophet" and "village idiot" can be a thin one...I know because I've crossed it a few times!

What separates an individual from the pack begins with personal integrity, and ends with relevance. If ever there was a time in history for new and innovative ways of doing things, that time is now. The economic paradigms have shifted, and we need rugged individuals to step forward with ideas about the future. People who are stuck in yesterday's news may never be able to see the benefits of visionary individualism, and separate themselves from the herd. To these folks, I say: "Good luck". If people like this label you a "kook"...so what? I recommend that you pick your own critics, and comments from the unqualified masses don't really count. Listen to the comments that serve you most, and make sure that your ideas take root in meaningful solutions - for yourself, for your company, for whatever.

Bottom line: The gap betwen kook and visionary is bridged by relevance. Make your ideas matter to the people you care about, and you can never be a caricature. For the unique creative souls that have something valuable to share, relevance is what separates an outcast ...from an iconoclast.