Five reasons why being awesome is not awesome enough
Let’s say, just for the sake of saying it, that you have been working meticulously on a blog post. The subject is Men and Needlework during the 17th Century. You have been sweating over this post. You have tried to balance it between being too short and too long. You have avoided using too much jargon, but you’ve peppered in a few little hints of jargon to show that you know what you’re talking about. Every word has been chosen with the utmost care. This post, it’s safe to say, is your masterpiece.
There’s just one tiny little problem.
You sell port-a-potties. To construction workers.
It’s awesome to be awesome
There is nothing wrong with striving for awesomeness. Heck, I do it all the darned time. But there’s being awesome in the abstract, and then there’s being awesome in a useful, awesomely productive sort of way. With all of the talk going on about how to make your blog awesome, how to make your campaign awesome, and how to just generally be awesome, I worry that people may sort of forget that “awesome” is not an endgame. Here are five reasons why being awesome is not necessarily awesome enough.
1. Your audience may not care: If you are waxing poetical about embroidery and your audience could care less, that’s not really 100% awesome, is it? Because it is not helping your readers, of which there might be 3, and it’s certainly not helping you. Even if your posts are exquisite and are getting attention from Martha Stewart, if it’s useless to your audience, it’s really not that awesome.
2. Your recognition is coming from people who are not your buyers: Maybe a lot of people are proclaiming you are awesome. That’s totally awesome. If you are here to make money, however, what really matters is whether that “you’re awesome!” is going to translate into “…and I wish to put some of my money into your PayPal account.” It’s easy to praise a painting on a wall. That doesn’t mean you want to buy it.
3. Awesome is a state of mind: Especially online, feeling awesome or doing awesome stuff is like a summer thunderstorm. One great comment can make you feel like you’re on top of the world. One sour comment can make you feel distinctly un-awesome. One post doing really well can make you feel like royalty, whereas if your next post falls flat, you’re back to the un-awesome. Feeling awesome is awesome, but it’s a treadmill journey that you need to keep working towards.
4. Awesomeness is relative: What is awesome to you? Who is awesome? If you ask 15 people, you’d probably get an infinite number of answers. Striving for “awesome” in the online world is like trying to grab a fist full of smoke. One person’s favorite blog post is another person’s least favorite. You’re a superstar to one person and an idiot in the eyes of another person. Saying that you are awesome, or being told that you are awesome, is an instance by instance victory. It’s not winning the war.
5. Awesomeness tempts you to think you’ve won it all. Let’s say you do something that’s awesome. Maybe you write a blog post that goes viral, or maybe you come up with a product that is unequivocally awesome. So, what next? If your goal is to “be awesome,” you may think you’ve won the race. Game over. The princess has been saved. But it’s not really so, is it? In the online world, as in life, there are sadly very few careers where you can say, “Oh, ok. I’m done. I’ve accomplished everything in the world.” You can be happy for that moment, but then you’ve got to move on. And guess what? The bar of awesome is now higher. That’s right. It gets increasingly harder to be and to feel awesome the longer you strive for awesomeness.
This is not to downplay the power of striving for awesomeness, otherwise known as, well, I don’t know. What does “awesome” mean to you? Your best work? Being the best possible person? Whatever it is, striving for awesome is always awesome. But thinking that “awesome” is the prize – that’s where I believe people might be traveling a bit astray.
What do you think?
Image by David Siqueira. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dleafy
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I’ve been going with Geek instead of awesome (though I do appreciate your anatomy of current usage). Looking at the etymology we have a pretty diabolical desire: the desire to be “awed” at. This is the slithering, snithering pridish goal that leaves me feeling pretty empty. Though it sure feels good at the time.
I was popular, for a time, in college. It was awesome. It was far better when I embraced my geek. No more pretense. no more issues. Just me. i got out of college and I had enough money, a nice family, and my soul-core-geek-passion to work with.
“In the room women come and go and talk of Michelangelo”–they really just are talking about David or Adam some other naked hero. I think the soul of Mike was his fidelity to his inner-geek.
Cheers again!
Mark
It’s great to be okay with just being yourself. The only judge of “awesome” that matters when it comes to each of us is ourselves. If you think you’re a-okay (which you are, by the way), then that should be all that you need.
Unfortunately, a lot of people need to hear that from someone else, and I worry that the cause of “being awesome” might not be attainable, because after all, how many times does just the right person walk up to us and say, “Hey, you’re awesome!” If you’re not ready to hear it, you won’t.
Thanks, Mark!
Very well said Margie. I believe Steven Tyler was also on to something when he “Life’s a journey, not a destination.” I think we all strived to make others “feel” awesome, this would be an even magical world than it already is.
Indeed, Greg. Or John Lennon’s “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” Sometimes those rock dudes know what they’re talking about, non? 🙂
Dang, Margie – why did you have to let everybody know I’m working on a post about Men and Needlework in the 17th Century? 🙂
You’re so right – and funny – in this post. Being known as “awesome” won’t pay the bills. Our core audience should always be at the top of the list of people we’re trying to please. And awesome IS a state of mind. If our mood and motivation depends on what the last comment on our blog or Twitter mention said, that spells trouble. If we are confident in our work and we know we’re doing our best, we can always take satisfaction from that. Success and achieving “awesomeness” is a marathon, not a sprint, and as you said so well, the bar is always being raised higher.
Thanks for another great post, @kamkansas
Sorry to “out” you, Kathy. I just couldn’t keep my concern for you under wraps any longer 🙂
Thanks for your comment – as Mark said too, it’s all about being awesome by your own yardstick. If you can get that, nothing else matters in the end.
Wow. I don’t think I’ve even tried to define awesome with regard to my professional goals. I guess I’ve always been aware of what is good, better, even great. But awesome? Out of the ballpark fantastic? No. It sounds plebian but I aim for the best everyday. But I still think you earn it, one day at a time.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with that! Doing the best you can can be awesome, by the way. It takes a special kind of person to do the best he or she can day in, day out. I’ll bet plenty of people find you pretty darned awesome, in fact!
Margie, you just communicated quite eloquently what has been churning in my gutt for awhile now. I am an “awesomeness seeker,” however; I don’t think I hit the mark very often. After awhile, that can make you feel like Maroon 5 singing, “Is there anyone out there cause it’s getting harder and harder to breathe ..” Thanks for the reality check.
It sounds like you are being far too hard on yourself, Kerry. I see you interacting on Twitter a lot and sharing great information – that’s awesome. You leaving this comment – that’s awesome.
What do you find yourself trying to do when you seek “awesomeness?” Sounds like you’re setting the bar quite high! ((hugs))
Margie,
Let it be known: You are awesome.
Humbly,
Bruce
Bonus points for gratuitous use of the word “Awesome” in your blog post. I think it’s a great thing that you’re trying to push the envelope on the topic of Awesomeness since it does not get enough serious attention. In my mind, it works out like this. Being Awesome feels good, but DOING Awesome IS good. I try my best to do both but can’t say I always succeed, but then again, I guess admitting your failures is awesome in its own way. Thanks for a great post!
Garry AKA “Mr. Awesome McAwesomesauce”