The world novelty signifies something with a transitory appeal.
A useless but amusing object, like a cheap toy, ornament or trinket.
Which is fine for a purchase at the dollar store, but what happens when someone uses the word novelty to describe you?
It can come off as dismissive, reductive and derogatory.
After all, nobody wants to be thought of as tacky or trivial. We want to be seen as useful, not just a one trick pony or a passing fad that holds nothing but entertainment value.
Take it from a guy who’s been wearing a nametag every day for nineteen years. Novelty is a word that’s been used to describe me for the last two decades. And for a long time, that description hurt my feelings. Being thought of as a novelty made me feel small and useless.
But over the years, something occurred to me.
Novelty is more than a just adjective, it’s a skill. One that’s worth money. The ability to produce something original; the talent to invent something useful that can be operationalized within an organization; the aptitude to bring something to life in winning form that can be replicated and evolved by broader culture, that’s novelty too.
And it has significant value for others.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you capitalizing on your impulse to originate?
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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.
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