June 07, 2004
Branding Beware
"I'm afraid of losing my obscurity. Genuineness only thrives in the dark. Like celery."
- Aldous Huxley, prolific author, Brave New World
I have sometimes experienced this same fear in the back of my mind in my own life. Not to say that obscurity is the do all, end all, but it does provide a nice environment for:
- Creativity - fewer critics
- Freedom - fewer expectations
- Focus - fewer distractions
- Sincerity - few temptations
Posted at June 7, 2004 10:17 PM
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Isn't obscurity or fame a state of mind? And relative? One can be famous in their home town of 150 people and be subject to the thoughts of others, or one can be famous worldwide and not notice, and just go about doing their thing.
Yea, I agree that obscurity is in many respects a state of mind. However, there are some real differences. If the president of the US makes a really crazy decision, he's going to receive extremely powerful resistance. Similarly, an individual in an organization might have to deal with politics. If they make bad decisions, their livlihood could be threatened. An individual in obscurity has more creative freedom.
This is not to say that one should run for obscurity, but obscurity may be under-rated in our fame-based culture.