Sometimes, caring and trying hard aren’t enough. Despite your best efforts, your best efforts didn’t win the day.
Sometimes it won’t work or you’ll be the only one who gets it, and sometimes the people who don’t get it are going to let you know they didn’t. And sometimes, they won’t want you to try to tell them again. Sometimes it will hurt.
It hurts your pride or your feelings or maybe it even shakes your confidence, making you wonder if you have this figured out. You probably do. You can probably do better too, and you probably will the next time, so long as you can give yourself a next time.
This is the challenge of doing important work and making your work matter. It would be easier to just do what everyone else is doing. Knowing you are right is the easy part. Telling everyone else and being patient – allowing your audience the time it requires to understand you – will require commitment.
When you fall down or have an accident and bust something up, your body will make every effort to protect itself. When you twist your ankle, it immediately swells up, too much in fact. It over-reacts to protect itself and to discourage you from action so you can heal.
Whether we are talking about twisted ankles or busted knees, taking some time off makes sense. You need to rest so that you can recover and try again. A busted or bruised ego is no different.
Sit back, rest and recover. Ask yourself these questions …
Does the idea of your work or your point make some people uncomfortable?
Does your work challenge the status quo?
Does it suggest a shake up is in order?
Good! The world needs work like that.
Now go tell them. Again. But first …
Find a better way to tell them or to make your point. Despite being right, so far your approach is off.
Find more examples that illustrate your point. Educate, educate, educate. I constantly post examples of the Experience Economy to reinforce my argument.
Find someone else who agrees with you and learn how he or she spreads his or her message.
Gradually, and then all of a sudden, your desired audience will get it.
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