The In-Between State - or the Tipping Point of success

Gala Darling just released the second episode of her podcast, Love and Sequins – I was pretty intrigued in this one as she talks about running a creative business, and I had often wondered how people like her got to the point of being invited to speak at events and getting free stuff.

The conversation between her and Molly Crabapple, as well as her general guidelines, were interesting (disclaimer: I read the transcript but haven’t actually listened to the podcast yet). A lot of it are things one can pick up from other small business guides – figure out what you like to do, think of various ways to build that into a business, network, diversify, and so on. She does have some interesting advice, like “don’t take your passions so literally” – for instance, there are still ways to build a career out of writing Harry Potter fanfic without needing to literally write and sell Harry Potter fanfic.

However, the one part I was most interested in was left unanswered: What did she do, or what happened to her, that led to her current status and commanding power?

visually it’d look like this:

There are many other bloggers with equally effervescent personalities and not-so-dissimilar content that have come before Gala. Some of them do have their own small followings. But, unlike Gala, they haven’t been able to command product placements or speaking gigs or afford international flights. What was different?

Let’s take this similar issue in the point of view of performing, since that’s what I do at the moment:

There is a little while to go before you’re considered professional enough to be drafted for commercial shows, before you become a recognisable and credible brand name. But when does this happen? How many shows and how many years do you need before you reach that point? If you’ve worked in one area (say, improv) for a while, then moved on to something else in the same field (say, contemporary theatre) does anything from your previous work count within the timeline? Who proclaims you as ‘professional’ anyway?

The Circus Oz Twitter account had promoted this interview of Artistic Director Mike Finch as:

How do you go from Work Experience boy to Artistic Director at #circusoz?? Read Mike Finch’s interview to find out: http://TwitPWR.com/gG5/

The interview does go into quite a bit about the background of the show and of his work as AD, but it doesn’t actually answer @circusoz’s question: How do you go from Work Experience boy to Artistic Director at Circus Oz? Who discovered him? Did he have to make an application? Did he have to leave Circus Oz for a while?

This in-between state is something I’ve been interested in for quite a long time. However, it’s not one that’s often talked about. The only other person I found who actually looks into these things is Malcolm Gladwell, whose books The Tipping Point and Outliers talk about pivotal points that affect people’s success. There are certain factors that make the difference between success and failure: whether it’s the number of hours, someone believing in you, being born in the right place at the right time.

What sets them apart from others? What point, what event, made a difference?

I asked this about Internet-famous people on Ask Metafilter but didn’t really get the response I was expecting. However, I was directed to Wired’s article on ‘fameball’ Julia Allison, which is an example of what I really want to know. The article describes her thinly-disguised press releases (“Oh my, I’m going to do something really stupid! Please don’t publish this even tho you are media!”) and how Gawker lapped it up despite protesting about how useless she is.

Is that what it takes? Shameless self-promotion? On the one hand society tells people that they’re not worth anything if they’re not famous or well-known. Yet we also scorn people who actively seek out fame. Why? Is it a bad thing? Is it because they’re not passively waiting? Will just having talent make people come to you, or do you need to do more to get someone’s attention?

What do you do that sets you apart?

Comments

1. “Actively seeking fame” is not the same as “actively doing the thing that you’re good at, well”. ‘Actively seeking fame’ implies a lack of talent – so fame has to be ‘sought’; rather than someone who does what they’re good at (running a creative business, making beautiful things that people actually want, networking because they are interested in other people and what they are doing rather than because they feel thats what will make them famous).

   People like gala darling, and others on the internet blogs etc who become ‘famous’ for want of a better word didn’t seek to be so. They just went about their business, doing what they do well. People get to know them as they are also active in their communities*, encouraging and promoting others, etc. Mostly the tipping point comes from years of hard work of doing what they do best (not years of trying to work out what the tipping point that will make them famous is).

   If you look through their blog posts, I doubt you’ll find anything that asks “how can I become famous?” – you’re more likely to find “can anyone help me market my stuff better?”. Its not about them, its about what they’re trying to sell/teach/make.

   What are you trying to sell?

   *I think this is quite important in whether people like you or not; how active, supportive and positive you are of your community.

   Just my two cents worth.

   — Kakak · Jun 9, 05:45 PM · #

2. I’m not sure just doing your job well will get you fame. That’s a marketing fallacy – what they call the “mousetrap problem”: just building a better mousetrap won’t guarantee people will come.

   And Gala Darling is a massive fameball! for a while it was “oh look at this fabulous person I’m meeting” and “hey look I’m a visionary in this article” etc etc. Her blog, when compared to many other bloggers who write about personal development/fashion/creative stuff, doesn’t really stand out on its own – but somehow she’s still doing tons better branding-wise than many others.

   There’s no point just doing things well if no one hears about it. Even Malcolm Gladwell alluded to such in Outliers – he argues that your date of birth, your charisma, and your family upbringing make much more of a difference than any innate “talent”. Indeed, he argues that the idea of talent needs ot be retooled because there’s so many other circumstances that affect how people are given the opportunity to hone it in the first place. Bill Gates got to where he is because he was young enough to be able to be one of the first people to use personal computers for hours at school (when they were shrinked from their mainframe size). A few years before or after, and he would have missed the boat.

   — Tiara · Jun 9, 05:52 PM · #

3. It appears to me that most people who gain fame like that are always looking for opportunities and <I>do not close doors</I>. They do not discount anyone, they’re open to new ventures and new ideas. True, Bill Gates was indeed there at the right time, but he saw an opportunity and exploited it.

   Marketing people know the importance of self-selling. They go out and meet people; they open as many windows and doors as they can, they make themselves available and easily consumable.

   And admittedly, some people are better at networking than others.

   — Jha · Jun 14, 11:31 AM · #

4. Want to know the truth? Gala Darling is a FRAUD. She gives the world the impression that she earns ‘mad bling’ from her blog. Real story? Gala Darling lives off her parents money. Professional bloggers KNOW how much she can make from Adsense and a couple of Blogads, and it is not nearly enough to support her travel and shopping habits.

   I am APPALLED at how young girls admire her and think they can emulate her self-proclaimed “business success”, when Gala Darling’s frivolous lifestyle is really subsidized by her parents. Follow her on Twitter for a few days and the truth is plain to see. Gala Darling’s idea of “work” is taking photos of herself and putting them on the internet, then going shopping.

   It’s fine to be rich and blog about your life, but don’t LIE about being an independent businesswoman who makes all her money off her blog. Gala Darling needs to address this criticism instead of ignoring her many critics.

   — Tara · Jun 30, 09:02 AM · #