You Don’t Know How Good You Are
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
Robert Benchley said you could divide the world into two types of people — those who divide the world into two types and those who don’t.
I like to divide the world into those who seek to blend in and be as unremarkable as possible. And those who know that true greatness lies in unapologetically embracing their idiosyncrasies with abandon. These are the oddballs, the mavericks, the misfits who defy convention and as Steve Jobs said, “make a dent in the universe.”
Annie Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, picked up a paintbrush at the age of 78. She became one of the most celebrated primitive artists in history, whose paintings have sold for as much as one million dollars.
Thomas Carlyle, the greatest historian of modern times, was another. Despite his eccentricities, which led Virginia Woolf to note, ‘It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs. Carlyle marry one another and so make only two people miserable and not four,’ he produced a body of work that would go on to define great leadership.
But oddballs come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes they make their mark in the most unexpected ways.
Take Ralph Lipschitz, a tie salesman with no ties to speak of. He saw a gap in the market and decided to fill it. He had a vision, a “schtick,” and wasn’t afraid to pursue it. One day he attended a polo match. Ralph saw horses, polo shirts, brass and leather frills, and let’s not forget riding crops. It was a ‘eureka’ moment.
A fire in his eyes caught the attention of a Bloomingdale's buyer. But the wiser, older man disagreed. He said the dress code for hippie guys coming out of college in the late 60s was frayed jeans and tie-dyed tee shirts. Lipschitz saw something else. He noted that young men really wanted to dress like Cary Grant but couldn’t find that kind of merchandise in department stores. So they were stuck. He said what young hippies wanted was to look like old aristocrats. “And I can give that to them.”
The new line didn’t have a brand name.
The buyer said that was a problem. He couldn’t very well call it Lipschitz Ties.
”Lipschitz said, “I’m going to call it Polo.”
“Never heard of it,” the buyer answered.
“Just wait,” said Lipschitz.
He changed his name to Ralph Lauren.
The rest, as they say, is history. Lauren’s Polo line became one of the most iconic fashion brands of all time, synonymous with elegance, sophistication, and a certain kind of old-world charm. And all because the world dropped Ralph Lipschitz a hint, as Oscar Wilde famously said, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
