Daring to walk away: Austen in her late twenties, on-the-shelf, humiliation phase of spinsterhood backed out of engagement to marry her wealthy, socially suitable but oh-so-perfectly named neighbour, Mr Bigg-Wither. She dared to know her own mind and trusted herself- for which generations of readers give thanks.
Sia is possibly another example of this. She was in Zero 7 and had popularity as a solo artist, but she had to go through recovery and a rebrand (famously hiding her face, which I always assumed must have been in part to avoid comments on her age) before she became a global superstar.
I’m not sure who came with this framework, but I sometimes think about where the line of opportunity intersects with the line of preparation. Raye was prepared. But the opportunities didn’t present themselves for that preparation to come sufficiently into view. And then it did. And she was ready.
Great piece. The explore/exploit model in particular: it would seem to fit David Bowie particularly well.
Daring to walk away: Austen in her late twenties, on-the-shelf, humiliation phase of spinsterhood backed out of engagement to marry her wealthy, socially suitable but oh-so-perfectly named neighbour, Mr Bigg-Wither. She dared to know her own mind and trusted herself- for which generations of readers give thanks.
Great post, and timely for my own life. Thanks for the reminder to move from explore to exploit!
The Explore/Exploit heuristic is such a brilliant way of thinking about this
Sia is possibly another example of this. She was in Zero 7 and had popularity as a solo artist, but she had to go through recovery and a rebrand (famously hiding her face, which I always assumed must have been in part to avoid comments on her age) before she became a global superstar.
I’m not sure who came with this framework, but I sometimes think about where the line of opportunity intersects with the line of preparation. Raye was prepared. But the opportunities didn’t present themselves for that preparation to come sufficiently into view. And then it did. And she was ready.
I pre-ordered, Secont Act! I’m blooming late as I type this and more on the topic is much appreciated. Thanks, Henry!