Putting yourself out there means you could fail
Why being “polarizing” is critically important for your success
I was in a fraternity in college. That in itself is a polarizing statement.
Some people are really against the college greek system. Some dislike what it represents (or what it represents to them). A lot of poor choices have been made by people in the greek system, and a lot of bad things have resulted from it. I can’t argue with that.
On the flip side, if their intentions are good, great things can come out of that system. A lot of good can come out of any organized group with the right intentions. For me, joining a fraternity was transformative.
One very specific thing a fraternity did for me was this– it convinced me of the value of contribution. It convinced me that stepping out of your comfort zone to take part is one of the most important things you can do. That’s how you connect with people. That’s how you make friends. That’s how you grow.
Stepping out of your comfort zone to take part is one of the most important things you can do. That’s how you connect with people. That’s how you make friends. That’s how you grow.
Starting second semester freshman year, until I was a senior, I held some sort of office.
To hold an office, you had to run for office. You had to speak in front of the entire fraternity and convince them you were the best person for the job. Especially when you’re one of the “new guys” that’s not something you take lightly. Prepare yourself for ridicule.
I remember just before my speech asking one of my good friends in the fraternity why he never ran for an office. He was super smart, funny and engaging. He was older than me, and I looked up to him. I wanted him to have a voice on the direction we took as an organization.
He told me “when you put yourself out there like that, you risk failure. So why do it if you could fail?”
This is true.
And it’s just about the worst advice you could give anyone. Thank God I didn’t listen.
Putting yourself out there is hard for most of us and really hard for a lot of us. For those whom it comes easy, they’re either really lucky or really good at faking it.
Putting yourself out there is uncomfortable. Putting yourself out there means coming out of the shadows and allowing yourself to step into the spotlight.
Coming out from the shadows to reveal yourself is a polarizing action. When you’re invisible, no one is paying attention. When you make yourself visible, you get attention.
The stronger your point of view, the finer a point you put on your point of view, the more polarizing you become. And in turn, the more attention you get.
The stronger your point of view, the finer a point you put on your point of view, the more polarizing you become. And in turn, the more attention you get.
If you have goals, you need this attention. If you have big goals, you need it even more. If you want to effect change on the world, you need a lot of attention.
And it’s just a lot easier to reach your goals if you have other people who believe in you to help you achieve them.
Unfortunately, the word polarizing has become synonymous with the world divisive. These are two different things. If your goal is to divide, you can be polarizing to achieve that goal. To unite, you also need to be polarizing. The difference is a matter of intention– do you seek to unite, or divide?
In magnetic polarization you can attract or repel. Light is polarized by focusing light waves into a single plane. Simply, by polarizing we give focus and unity of direction. We can choose to be positive or negative. Others can choose to agree or disagree, to follow us or not follow us.
If you work in marketing, you have likely heard the word “polarizing” a lot. Typically it’s an adjective that comes up when describing an idea that is about to die. Like “that idea is too polarizing.” Which is crazy, because “polarizing” is exactly what you want an idea to be. Unless you don’t want anyone’s attention.
If you want people to pay attention to you, your product or brand you need to be polarizing.
Being polarizing means some people will love you and what you say. And some people won’t.
It means you might fail. If you are polarizing, I guarantee you will fail at some point. But I also guarantee you won’t find real success without it.
About me: I’m a Partner/Creative Director at Teak in San Francisco. I’m from Colorado, moved to Chicago for 8 years then settled down in San Anselmo, California (the birthplace of mountain biking) with my wife to raise two amazing kids. I’m a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Denver Broncos and Peet’s Coffee.
