I got a call this week from the producer of a well-known radio show. (I’m not trying to be coy; I’ll share details if and when the call bears fruit.) He wanted to talk to me about a blog post I’d written that had gotten some traction on Twitter this week, and somehow made it into his hands.
The blog post was published months ago – but now that idea, which didn’t get a ton of traction at the time, could well reach a national audience. Which would be pretty darned cool.
Some things take time.
Some ideas don’t find an audience right away.
I know this to be true. But patience, unfortunately, is not my strong suit.
When we can type up a blog post in minutes and hit “publish” instantly – when we can have real-time conversations over Twitter with people we’ve only just met – it can seem like if your idea doesn’t take root immediately, it has failed. Like if you don’t find an audience right away, you need to tweak your message.
The truth is, though: timing matters, rather a lot. It matters in intimate relationships, and it matters in community.
Give your ideas – and the people you want them to reach – the benefit of time and patience. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Here’s this week’s curiosity experiment:
- What’s an idea you’ve had that hasn’t yet found traction in the way you’d hoped?
- How might you tend to it with patience?
- Are there ways you might try rekindling interest in it – say, by sharing it with a new group of people, reframing it, or translating it into a different medium or format?