How to Embrace Obscurity to Achieve Your Goals

I am on holiday. No not in lush rain forest nor on Safari.  London, England is my 'exotic' location.I headed down to my local bookshop and bought a book recommended by a friend. Back indoors, I inhaled the new book smell and brewed a pot of coffee. Curling up in the old green comfy chair, I grinned as the rain began to fall. (This is as close to the rain forest I was going to get).Finally, I get the chance to actually read. Ahh! What delicious indulgence! No need to swiftly skim the pages of multiple articles, pile up blog posts for later review and edit reports.What a treat to focus on one book at a time.Image source: Wikimedia Commons. The Wright Brothers' First Heavier than Air FlightI stumble upon unexpected lessons from The Wright Brothers.

I’m Reading…

A surprising rabbit hole moment.

I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy reading David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers as much as I am. Not my usual cup of tea; and certainly not my typical holiday reading!Yes, I expected it to be an exceedingly well-researched and written story.I didn’t expect to discover a valuable lesson about obscurity from two bicycle mechanics who made the dream of human flight a reality.From humble beginnings; they did not attend college, had little of their own money and had no financial backing.But they were smart visionaries, industrious and single-minded.On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright’s airplane lifted off the ground for few seconds to make the first powered in history. They continued to refine their planes for the next 5 years.They were largely ignored by the Press, their hometown, their government, the scientific establishment and the world during this time.

Aha! Moment

Reading the Wright Brothers’ story got me thinking about the value of obscurity.In our ‘like me’ ‘follow me’ culture, we live externally and conspicuously searching for the limelight, recognition, validation and even celebrity.Perhaps, a period of obscurity is a much overlooked critical stage on the path to stellar success – whatever your criteria for success might be.But you can’t just languish in obscurity waiting for the lightning bolt of success to strike.There’s work to be done whilst you have the advantage of obscurity. The mindset you adopt and the consistent application of certain habits, will be the difference between a remarkable or commonplace achievement.

9 Smart Habits You Need to Adopt to Get Results from Obscurity

Rewire your thinking to take advantage of obscurity. Here are 9 smart habits from the Wright Brothers to help set you on the right path.Yes, 9! Come on, 10 would have been far too obvious.1. Focus on your goal with single-minded determination: The Brothers toiled for years, 14 to 16 hour days, six days a week, devoted to achieving their goal; to achieve powered flight AND to learn how to fly. Are you willing to make the sacrifice to achieve your goals?2. Be willing to take ‘calculated’ risks: They flew those rickety looking contraptions themselves. Orville crashed, killing a high-profile passenger and seriously injuring himself. He recovered to fly again. It is dangerous moving beyond your comfort zone.3. Tune out the naysayers and critics: “There was a human fixation that man can’t fly and anybody who pretends that man can fly is a crackpot.” David McCullough.  They tuned out the peddlers of conventional 'wisdom'. But unorthodoxy exacts a high price for the promise of great reward. Are you willing to pay the price?4. Compete only with yourself: Run your own race. They were not the only ones who dreamed of achieving powered flight. In Europe and the US, men were experimenting with air balloons, large kites, gliders and aircraft designs.5. Practice humility: While others were chasing prestige, inviting the press and attracting crowds to their flight demonstrations which often ended in jaw-dropping failures; the Brothers focused on honing their craft. From inside their bicycle shop they put their energies to ironing out the kinks, building, rebuilding their flying machine from scratch without fanfare.6. Persistence and perseverance: Without the distraction of mass public scrutiny, they actively learned from their mistakes. They never let failure or disappointment derail their mission. They systematically identified one problem at a time and eliminated it through trial and error. With each problem or mistake uncovered, they repeated the process until they found the solution – amplifying their output and transforming disparate bits of metal and wood into a flying machine.They didn’t fall prey to the Siren call of quick fix solutions. Artisan in their approach, this is a masterful example of incremental iterative learning delivering monumental results.7. Stay curious and keep learning: They were self-taught, continuous learners. They read widely and deeply and studied the pioneers of their discipline.8. Cut your own path: They were inspired by the early pioneers. But when they discovered that the widely accepted science of flying machines incorrect; they were not afraid to correct or adapt it or rewrite it completely. They rewrote the rules of aerodynamics.When they needed a part that didn’t exist, they designed it and built it themselves. Limited access to external resources and obscurity was the mother of invention, adaptation and improvisation.9. Build and maintain your support network: They had the foundation of a strong close-knit family. Not only did they have each other, their sister Katharine Wright was a strong supporter and helped manage their public appearances as they became famous. Charlie Taylor, an employee in their bicycle shop, was instrumental in the design of a gasoline engine to power their flying machine.The Wright Brothers is an inspiring read not just for entrepreneurs. It is an uplifting story to encourage anyone who has an audacious dream.My takeaway: I learned that obscurity is the opportunity to hone your craft, build success and achieve your desired goals from the inside out, not the outside in.Flash in the pan celebrity OR lasting legacy? Ultimately, choice is yours to make.So if you want to make sure obscurity doesn’t suck, pick up a Wright Brothers’ inspired habit.Do share with others who will find these habits helpful.Bonus: Dip into this interview with the author, David McCullough.The blog is on a summer schedule. Until we meet again in a fortnight down the HR Rabbit Hole…Now let me get back to that green comfy chair.