11 Jan On Being Original

The news of David Bowie’s passing today has left me feeling somewhat shocked and saddened. But, without wishing to sound like a complete arsehole, I can’t quite put my finger on why.

Like everything else in my life, I came to Bowie’s music late. At a guess I’d say I was in my early to mid thirties before I listened to and bought one of his records. For someone born in 1972, raised during Bowie’s prime and who loves rock music, that’s arguably a bit shocking.

Sure, now I have the likes of Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust in my music library, but I certainly wouldn’t claim to be a massive fan. I never saw him live, for example. Likewise, I’m not a person who normally mourns the death of celebrities or people I don’t know personally.

And yet, listening to Life on Mars and especially Quicksand this morning left me feeling extremely melancholic.

There’s no doubt that David Bowie was a major influence on my musical taste, even if indirectly. Bowie influenced many of the bands I’ve listened to and loved over the last thirty years, and I hear that when I listen to them.

But more than that, I think of him as an iconic figure; someone of exceptional creativity and someone with a hugely innovative nature. And I think that’s why today I feel so saddened by his passing.

Standing Out From The Crowd

I stumbled across a fantastic post by Dave Trott today (shared by Chris Owen on Twitter) which outlines the story of a conversation about what made David Bowie so different. It’s well worth a read, but in short Bowie “looked where no-one else was looking”.

He knew that that opportunity in his field wasn’t in doing what his peers were doing, but in creating something completely new.

That’s something we could all learn from, isn’t it?

Being willing to be different to everyone else and stand out from the crowd.
Having self-belief and confidence.
Being brave.

I wrote about it in December, here.

Another friend of mine, Jo Porritt, posted this on Facebook today:

That says it all. When it comes to your career or your business, be original. Be unique. Innovate.

Just because everyone else does something a certain way doesn’t mean you have to.

Refuse to go with the flow. Look around. See what everyone else is doing. And do something totally different.

Or don’t. It’s up to you.