In the last month I have steadily been mainlining the Unmistakable Creative podcast including all of the 400+ backlog of interviews. Everyday I listen to at least 1 if not 2 of the hour long podcasts with someone who would be considered unmistakable. The Unmistakable Creative podcast is hosted by Srini Rao, Srini interviews the instigators, innovators, creatives, and leaders of a variety of disciplines. The show has been having a huge impact on my day to day life and has introduced me to a lot of people I had previously never knew of and has given me thought candy to chew on for the whole day. The show, my own adventure to follow my creative side, and figure out what makes me happy, I have been thinking a lot about one question that Srini ends all of his interviews with: what makes someone unmistakable?
So what does make someone unmistakable? Honestly, I have no answer, not a solid one at least. I know it’s a bit of a let down, you came here for answers and I want to say that I have the right answer but I simply do not. I don’t think there is necessarily a right answer for the question. I think anyone can be unmistakable in a million and half different ways but I think there is at least one overall factor that is required and that is busting your ass. But not in the 20th & 21st century way where you need to work 50, 60, 70 hours a week on something you don’t give 2 fucks about, NO definitely not in that way. But in the way in which you find what you love, what brings you joy, what brings value to the human race, then turning your dreams into a reality; that’s the way in which we should be busting our asses by doing things that matter. That is, I believe, the only thing that binds all of the unmistakable people but certainly not the only ingredient.
What are the characteristics of unmistakable people? Charisma, creativity, perseverance, intuition; these only scratch the surface of what makes someone unmistakable. Unmistakable people, not always, are people who aren’t intentionally trying to be unmistakable but want to make a change or a difference in the world. Something like being unmistakable can’t be forced, it needs to be nurtured, harnessed, and released unto the world. It starts with us, me, you, the singular; we need to identify what makes us, us. Figure out what we love, what we are passionate about, what we can do to change the world even if it is only in a few small ways. This is where it starts, in who we are and what we want to stand for, what message we want to broadcast to our peers and the generations that come after us. The end goal and what makes many people unmistakable, especially the ones that really matter, are the ones who live their life following their passions but also helping humanity. Bill Gates for instance is a great example of this, he built an empire and arguably ushered in the era of computing as we know it. Now he may not have always been a good guy, certainly not, he was ruthless and manipulative but ultimately what he was doing was building value for the world. I don’t want to say the ends justify the means nor do I condone screwing people over but Microsoft and Bill gates in many ways has done more for the computing landscape and the interconnectedness of the world than nearly any other company or person. Really at this point I think the only other company, organization, or person who has had that impact would be Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook it’s the only thing that could come close to the same impact as Microsoft in the last 50 years. What I find admirable about Bill Gates is that now he does more for humanity through his charitable foundations than the majority of CEO’s or mega billionaires. This is a great example of doing something you love and following your passion, even though there may have been a bit of ruthlessness in the business practices he finalizes his legacy on this world by giving away billions of dollars to help others all around the world. That’s unmistakable.
How can we be unmistakable amongst all the noise? This is traditionally thought to be the most difficult but really it’s not. The only reason it’s not is because we don’t have to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates to be unmistakable. We don’t have to live in the stratosphere amongst the gods of our industries. We don’t even have to be famous. We truly don’t need to cut through the noise or rather we don’t need to have that be our primary focus. What we do need though is to do good work with heart and purpose. Work that is worthy of being a pillar or foundation amongst the noise even if it still can’t cut through. We don’t need recognition to be unmistakable all we need is to be passionate about what we do, work hard at it, and make sure it is changing the world even if it is only in a very small way. Fame, fortune, notoriety doesn’t matter; these should never be the goal. The goal should always be building a legacy that matters and one that brings value to the world around us. We don’t have to hit a homerun every time, we just need to make it to first base, hell sometimes we just need to step up to bat. Doing little things that matter and make a difference can have massive ripple effects spurring more change and more value to the world.
Why would we want to be unmistakable? To change the world, to leave it better off than when we entered it. “But I can’t change the world all by myself” is a fairly common thought and it’s insanely wrong! We CAN change the world, we may not be able to in HUGE ways but we can make small impacts that could result in massive changes. We have a duty as the leading species on planet Earth to continually improve the world in which we live. Whether we do it for the Earth, the ecosystems, the animals, or the people; we need to consciously strive to make this world a better place to live in. It is not required to make huge changes to be unmistakable, all we need is to create value and make an impact on someone or something. The value we can create can improve lives, ideas, ecosystems, economies, it can literally change the world, even if it is just a little. We need to do this so that we can set a precedence to the generations after us, they need to see that we were the change that mattered. We stood out amongst the world, said “piss off” to the status quo and busted our asses to provide it with value and purpose, we made a difference, we were the ones who planted the seeds of change. Standing up and doing something that matters can influence generations that follow, building and expanding the ripple effect. Doing things with value and being unmistakable will build a better world.
Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. ~ Malala Yousafzai
I don’t think we can truly define what makes something or someone unmistakable, I think it just is, it’s a result not a definition. There is far too many things that could make someone unmistakable, there are simply too many variables. However, a great step is to start with defining who we are, what we love, what we are passionate about, then we decide how we can use that to change the world. We can all be unmistakable, we can make a difference, we can change the world, all it takes is some effort and being conscious of the value we want to deploy into the world. The things we do now have the ability to ripple throughout time and resonate for generations to come. Be good, be passionate, be the change you want to see. Be unmistakable.