I love your memoir, Molly Shannon. It really moved me. Thanks for narrating the audiobook, which is how I experienced it. Your storytelling made me think about my own past and future, Catholic quirks, family, hard work, grief, gratitude, and so much more.
One unique side note I wanted to record here relates to another audiobook I heard recently: Different by Youngme Moon. Isn’t it funny how pattern-seeking we humans are? Media I consume one right after another tend to have parts blend together a bit if they share anything in common. Both Different and Hello, Molly! made me consider the importance of leaning into your difference, whenever pursuing your goals — whether for personal passions like for Shannon, or for the missions of businesses and organizations.
I learned about Moon’s book from research I’ve been doing lately, and in it Moon makes the case that often the successful businesses and organizations today really try to be different, and to celebrate their difference, rather than trying to appease every customer. I’m no MBA, but I appreciated the cases presented and the push for brands to be authentic to what really makes them stand out. Maybe the industry benchmarks aren’t the only things we should optimize for when designing products, lest all our products become the same, and it’s good to be reminded of that.
In her book, Shannon talked a lot about struggling as an actor in LA, hustling so much to hone her craft and characters and pack houses, despite being different in her comedy and acting. And she succeeded ultimately because her comedy was different at the time; her commitment to the characters, her physical comedy as a woman, her sense of humor. I don’t remember if she ever used the word in the audiobook, but Shannon’s work and performances struck me as so earnest. She even explained how her Mary Katherine Gallagher character was just an exaggerated version of herself, which makes sense after she explained her insecurities, tragedies, and love for the dramatic arts. All that made her different, and she embraced that to get where she wanted to go.
Moon mentioned how, when you have a list of your strengths and weaknesses, it’s easy to focus on just the weaknesses, when instead focusing on your strengths might be the clincher to your progress. I’m not saying I want to ignore my weaknesses, personally or professionally, and likewise neither should a business; but like Molly Shannon and like some successful modern brands, maybe we should have our antennae up for what’s really working, too, and focus on that, even if it’s not like everyone else.
