The Quiet Ones

In 1997 Apple launched a new advertising slogan: Think Different, celebrating the crazy ones like Picasso, Gandhi, Einstein and others. In hindsight this may have been the turning point, as they recovered from being lost and near bankruptcy to become one of the largest and most iconic companies in the world.

In 2010 Derek Sivers gave a great short TED talk, called How To Start A Movement, about the importance of first followers. As somebody who has never really started anything of note, but has been lucky enough to be an early follower a few times now, I was encouraged and inspired.

This is my juxtaposition of the two: Here’s To The Quiet Ones

Please share this, using the hashtag: #QuietOnes

These are the people featured in the video, many of whom are my heroes:

• Bernie Taupin
• Charlie Munger
• Gene Krantz
• Jen Voigt
• Lisa Fischer
• Alfred Russel Wallace
• Mary Ann Evans
• Joel Little
• Lise Meitner
• Ted Sorensen
• Eric Bina
• Tenzing Norgay

This is the text of the voiceover:

Here’s to the quiet ones.

The co-founders, the assistants, the collaborators.

The round pegs in the round holes.

The ones who see things as they are.

They work behind the scenes, helping the crazy ones with their rough edges.

You can overlook them, disregard them, trivialise or underestimate them.

But as you ignore them they quietly get on and change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the quiet ones,

We see genius.

Because they are the people that know that what matters most is what you achieve,

Not who gets the credit.

Enjoy!