Weâre taught early on that the most popular, the best as designated by the masses is where certainty and safety resides. We want to go to the best schools, work at the best companies, and associate with the best people in or fields.
But what if âthe bestâ for the crowd isnât what we need?
What if our perception of the best actually is sabotaging our growth?
In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell argues that the things we normally see as disadvantages have hidden strengths, which make them powerful. What is initially perceived as an obstacle can be the secret to victory. In this case, itâs better to be a Big Fish in a Little Pond than a Little Fish in a Big Pond.
And it was that maxim that my Mom was so fond of using that I embraced when I began my journey as a writer.
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Back in the early â90s in London, the black experience was actively ignored by the big publishing houses. If you were a talented author and in their favour and you wrote historical fiction, for example, you were in luck. Forget about genre fiction with diverse writers or characters. Our voice was irrelevant, and I have to say it was discouraging at times. I never gave up, though. I may have slowed to a crawl but never stopped writing. Once I overcame my
doubts and fears, I started applying my âThink Differentâ philosophy to my books.
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Urban Fantastic was born.Â
For me to be comfortable, I wanted to know I could stand out from the crowd, differentiate myself from everyone else. I was confident I could, but only if I embraced everything that made me, me. I embraced my unique experiences and started writing speculative fiction that had the Anton Marks stamp. It was a risk, but I didnât care. I was creating worlds and characters that traditionally were reserved for white authors and making it relevant to a demographic that I
am part of. That was my small pond, and Iâm thankful I found it.
How can you stand out in a competitive environment by merely being better than the next man? Â What if you add a few new skills, strategies, and relevant knowledge to your skill set, then youâre not just thinking differently, you are different.
Scott Adams, the creator of the comic Dilbert, refers to this as a âtalent stack.â In his book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, he talks about layering several modest skills on top of one another to become valuable. Instead of aiming to be the best at one thing, become good at a few things. In Adamâs case, he layered his artistic skills, writing skills, and business
knowledge to create his popular comic. Powerful outcomes happen at the intersection of a few modest skills.
Iâve never rested on my laurels even with my ability to âThink Differentâ when creating my stories. Iâm always topping up my font of ideas through observation, experiences, books, and anything else that will keep my creativity sharp.Â
What works for me in opening up my eyes to new possibilities is to bombard the brain with fresh experiences. Novelty free's the perceptual process from being bound by past experience and forces the brain to make new judgements.Â
New connections.
How curious are you? Donât take things on face value. Go deeper into how things work. Assume nothing. Question everything. And do you, the person you do the best.
