Shining at scale

One of my favorite mythological metaphors is Indra’s Net. The Hindu god Indra has a net hanging over his palace. At every knot in the net sits a multi-faceted jewel. (If a net with jewels hanging over a mythical Hindu palace doesn’t do it for you, imagine a spiderweb with a drop of dew catching sunlight at every joint.)

The idea is that each jewel in Indra’s Net is one of us. When any one of us does or says what we’re meant to do or say in the world, our jewel lights up and reflects on all of the jewels around us. Those jewels light up in turn, reflecting on all of the jewels around them. Ultimately the whole net can become illuminated as each jewel lights many others.

When any one jewel illuminates, it always illuminates the jewels around it They can’t help but reflect and share that light.

But this is a newsletter about being a great communicator, not about Hindu mythology.

Your idea/startup/disruption is a jewel in our mythical net.

If your idea is great, it will take on a life of its own in the world. You won’t have to personally deliver your message in every venue to every audience. Your idea will create a community of adherents who are as enthusiastic about it as you are. If your idea is truly amazing, that community will span the world.

A ‘thought leadership campaign’ is about coming up with a great idea. It’s also about finding allies who will help you spread that idea. When you take the time to identify and cultivate people who have platforms that can amplify your idea, they will light up quadrants of the net you’d never reach on your own. Cultivating these amplifiers is a lot of work! But it is worth it. The net is big. We need help reaching every corner of it!