be not an echo

infinte be a voice not an echo

from Infinite on weheartit

Ah.

“Be a voice … not an echo. “

 

I love this thought. A contributor named ‘Infinite’, a tween from Spain I think, posted this on weheartit.com.

And then I found that it is a name for a blog <for the independent fashion bloggers of all people>.

They say this <which I am using because I am pretty sure I couldn’t say it any better>:

 

Another way to think about it, are you voicing something original, or are you just echoing what you find to be the most popular? Granted nothing is truly original, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your original angle on a particular story or niche. It doesn’t mean you can’t make the connection between two things that have never been connected. It doesn’t mean you can’t point out what others have overlooked.

Just because there is a formula out there for success, doesn’t mean you need to echo it to achieve your own success. Be your own voice, let others echo you.

 

Well. “… be your own voice and let others echo you.”

That, my friends, is a nice thought.

Speak your own mind using your own knowledge and experience and what you think … and not just mindlessly repeat what you’ve heard … is not really that difficult.

Yet.

We seem to make it difficult.

We seem to do a lot of ‘echoing’ these days.

We seem to maybe not think as often as we could … or maybe should.

Look. I am not suggesting everyone needs to be a leader or even a thought leader — all the time. Echoing smart thinking and thoughts is, well, smart.

The difficult part <I imagine> is discerning the smart from the not-so-smart.

But that isn’t what this thought is about.

It is simply about speaking your mind.

Thinking before you speak.

Saying what you think.

And that it is okay to follow <choicefully and smartly> when appropriate, yet, you still should lend your voice and thoughts when you have an idea.

I am not going to suggest such trite or vapid thoughts as ‘be an originator, not an imitator’, but I will remind everyone that being yourself <which includes your own thoughts> is a good thing.  If you follow, just make sure you are echoing what you think and want to stand for. If not? Speak up. Lead the conversation. Spark some thinking.

think versus sayOh.

Yeah.

Spark some thinking.

I imagine another point I could end on is:

  • a tween
  • independent fashion bloggers.

 

Think about that for a minute or two. I admit. I like that I just listened to, thought about, and actually wrote citing two sources that on the face of it would seem highly unlikely to have inspired such thinking.

What do I mean?

All voices matter.

Anyone can think.

Anyone can be smart.

And it is okay for an old semi-experienced guy who has seen a lot of shit in his life <that’s me by the way> to echo the thoughts of a tween or some fashion bloggers.

We could, and should, all take that thought to heart.

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Written by Bruce