Dear advertisers, dear creative people, dear marketers. Let me tell you one thing, for we all know right now you are out there, desperately seeking for it. It, the next big thing, the solution to all your problems, the path to glory and honour.
I have to disappoint you, there is no such thing as the next big thing.
Let me explain.
(1) First of all, big things start of like all things: small. They start as ideas, sparks in the labyrinth of our brains. They stick around there, nag, bite, fade, reappear. Not until they are shared they get the chance to grow.
(2) Big things are small things that grow/multiplied. No idea grows just by staying an isolated idea in its thinker’s head. It is shared enthusiasm for a cause that makes it big. I’m not thinking two people or three (though it might work, too), I’m talking about hundreds, maybe thousands. How big would Facebook be if 700 million users hadn’t quietly agreed that this is a way to share things with their friends?
(3) We don’t need big things. The human being does not need big things. The things that truly make us feel great are incredibly small. Think about it for a second. The strongest emotions can be sparked by a word, a sentence, a paragraph. It’s the moment when your favourite song has this drop at minute 2:50 and suddenly rises straight to music heaven three seconds later. Where are your thoughts now? And where’s your head? A hug from your best friend after you heard the bad news. A smile from your girlfriend right after you woke up from a bad dream. How bis is this? Incredibly small, in fact. The fact that it is so small is the reason why small things can be more successful than big things: they fit everywhere.
(4) Even the longest journey – even the one to glory and honour – can be reached with small steps. And it doesn’t mean it takes you longer.
(5) The moment you discover something, it’s no longer the “next” thing, it’s already the actual thing. It’s happening, already. So stop looking for the next big thing, do the things you are doing right now the right way. Maybe you are the one that can make them grow?
What do you think? Is the concept of The Next Big Thing misleading or am I completely mistaken? I’d like to hear your opinion in the comment section.
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