Every year, I go to the Edinburgh Fringe and immerse myself in storytelling, hoping to get better at my craft.
This year’s biggest lesson came from an unexpected source.

In a science lecture room, a Madonna tribute act was singing and dancing her heart out to a largely unenthusiastic crowd.

Behind her, a PowerPoint slide read:
“I am not reinventing myself. I am going through the layers and revealing myself.”
Madonna

I talk a lot about reinvention. I give keynotes on it.
But perhaps reinvention isn’t about becoming someone new.
Maybe it’s about having the courage to reveal more of who you already are.

The singer, kept giving it everything, despite getting very little back. She continued singing her heart out.

And then one person stood up and danced.

That gave someone else permission to join in. And then someone else.

Not everyone will understand what you do. Not everyone will respond.
But the right people will find you. They will take what they need from what you offer, sometimes in ways you may never know.

The work is not to win over the whole room.
It is to keep singing regardless…