Thousands of years ago Seneca wrote to Lucilius, and today I wrote to a reader like you, Steven.
Steven, the reader, is in a career change at the moment and working on a business. He and I spent time working on his resume, career coaching, and strategies for taking his idea to market. Today, my insights to Steven were inspired by a letter that Seneca wrote to Lucilius - on crowds and advertising.
Seneca wrote to Lucilius:
"I should be glad to see you [doing your craft] if what you had to offer [the masses] was suitable for them: but the fact is, [the masses are not capable] of understanding you.
You might come across [someone] here and there, but even they would need to be trained and developed by you to a point where they could grasp your teaching. 'For whose benefit, then, did [you] do all this work?'"
TLDR version of Seneca's thoughts are:
Your work won't mean a thing if it doesn't speak to those you seek to serve; and
Those you seek to serve will likely not get you because,
You haven't spent enough time thinking about them, their worldview, and what it means for them to talk to someone like you.
My question to Steven, and to you... especially if your work involves taking an idea to people with the hope they buy it:
Can you translate your outcomes/what you offer into a language that someone will be capable of understanding?
In the mind of the person you are seeking to serve, will what you offer change their worldview in a meaningful way?
How did they perceive the world before you, and how will they perceive it with and after you?
Hope that insight offers some usefulness.
