Morning Minute 2/25/25:
“Are You Popular, Relevant, or Both?”
Interesting question, right?
Maybe the better question is: Are you popular because you are relevant? Or, are you relevant because you are popular? But, I am getting ahead of myself.
First, let’s define the terms, popular, relevant, and perceived. To be popular is to be liked, admired, and/ enjoyed by others. One is relevant when their actions, opinions, and/or contributions have a significant effect on others. And, to perceive is to regard and/or interpret someone in a certain way. You can be perceived as popular, relevant, or both. Let’s look at some examples.
Relevant because she is popular: Taylor Swift was a talented singer/songwriter in her teens. She was a good person not using profanity or blatant sexuality to draw attention to herself. As her songs became popular people wanted to know more about her, her story, and her career. Because she controlled what she wrote, what she wore, and how she performed, girls and their mothers began buying her music. As her popularity grew so did her relevance. Swift became relevant because she was popular.
Popular because he is relevant: Nick Saban’s record of excellence in college football may never be matched by any other coach. His teams won 7 national championships, 1 at LSU, and 6 at Alabama. His head coaching record is 297-71-1. He has been relevant to his programs, his players, and his universities. Because of his relevance in football and in his players success, he is a sought after speaker. Plus, his videos on social media are legendary. Saban became popular because he was relevant.
Your self-perception is more important than how others perceive you. Those striving to be relevant may not care so much about how others perceive them. Their goal is to help many other people develop the talents that God gave them. For them, being popular is not nearly as important as being relevant to others. They will accept popularity only if comes from their own relevance.
Those striving to be popular care a great deal about how they look, sound, and are perceived by others. They want the praise and the notoriety of being admired and recognized. Thus, they seek every opportunity to be noticed, regardless of whether or not what they do helps others. Being popular allows one to bask in the limelight that is derived by being noticed. However, popularity may be temporary if one has not developed the skills to be relevant.
Consider this: The lead tech in a manufacturing plant with 7000 employees is always called in for serious production delays or work stoppages. The other team members know when they call this person, the problem will be solved. That makes this lead tech very popular because of his/her relevance. On the other hand, the person in their TV commercials is only popular when what they make in this plant is selling. That person is popular, but may not be relevant.
So, I ask again: “Are You Popular, Relevant, or Both?”
And that is today’s Morning Minute.
