The Power of the Marginal
“This leads to my final suggestion: a technique for determining when you’re on the right track. You’re on the right track when people complain that you’re unqualified, or that you’ve done something inappropriate. If people are complaining, that means you’re doing something rather than sitting around, which is the first step. And if they’re driven to such empty forms of complaint, that means you’ve probably done something good.
If you make something and people complain that it doesn’t work, that’s a problem. But if the worst thing they can hit you with is your own status as an outsider, that implies that in every other respect you’ve succeeded. Pointing out that someone is unqualified is as desperate as resorting to racial slurs. It’s just a legitimate sounding way of saying: we don’t like your type around here.
But the best thing of all is when people call what you’re doing inappropriate. I’ve been hearing this word all my life and I only recently realized that it is, in fact, the sound of the homing beacon. “Inappropriate” is the null criticism. It’s merely the adjective form of “I don’t like it.”
So that, I think, should be the highest goal for the marginal. Be inappropriate. When you hear people saying that, you’re golden. And they, incidentally, are busted.”
- Paul Graham
What’s Your Money Maker?
How does (your name) make money?
Seth Godin makes $$$ by selling “books” with his ideas
Steve Jobs makes $$$ by selling “computers” that are beautiful and functional
Bill Gates makes $$$ by selling “software” for computers
These are people that combine their vision to create something they love and shared it with the world. You can be the artist creating from your own passion and it can change the world.
How do you want to make $$$ and make a difference?
Go make it real.
