"Build it and they will come."
It’s a very popular expression that promises a bright future for those who have the will, the guts, and the smarts to do something really great in this world. It says that if you have an awesome idea, a creative invention, just something really fantastic, then it is only a matter of time before somebody recognizes it and gives you what you truly deserve. I can think of many examples where something was built and the people came a’flockin’. Think about many of America's greatest cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, whatever. What do they all have in common? They was dirt before they were the giant sprawling metropolises full of life and vigor that they are today. As you can see, it was built and they came.
But does that still hold true today? The modern landscape has changed so dramatically in the last ten years that the old saying has become obsolete—I think it is in need of a little renovation. If you look at today's world, you will realize that everything has already been built, and that everybody has already come. There is no more room to build and there are no more people to attract and therein lies the central problem.
For most of us, we're all struggling post-high school stragglers. We're either in college or we're working, or, third option, just sitting on our asses doing nothing. We are the sorry result of the "build it and they will come" mentality to education. We were put through the grinder for the express purpose of achieving higher and higher levels of education. Me going to college was not a choice, but a logical evolution in the train of that thought that if you relentlessly build, then the money will a’knockin' on your doorstep. Statistically it's true, the more education you have, the more money you make. The problem is—it’s no secret to anybody. Everyone is chasing that same level of education so even after you get your bachelors, your masters, or even PHd, the chances are, there are hundreds of others just like you who went through the same grinder and built the same building that you built.
The problem with "Build it and they will come" is that everybody is building and nobody is coming. So how do you solve this? You have to separate yourself from the pretenders. I don't care how good your grades are. If you can't ask the questions that need to be asked or say the things that need to be said, then get the hell outta here. When employers look to hire, they're not looking for walking, breathing, living encyclopedias of knowledge, they are looking for people, people with attributes and skills, abilities, and above all, the ability to think.
What I'm trying to say is—we all have buildings already. There's no point in adding more rooms or more floors. What you have to try to do is, communicate why your building is the best, and show off what your building does that no other building can do. You can't just sit back and wait for people to come; you have to grab their attention, pull them by the hair, and take that sonuvabitch into your building and make the bastard like it.
"Build it and they will come?" More like, "Build it, advertise the shit out of it, and maybe, just maybe, they will come." It's not about more. It's about how, how you are different, how you are unique, and how you are you and not just some generic white paste. So just put down the tools for just one second and ask yourself,
“What the hell have I been building this whole time?”
