If you do meaningful work but almost no one sees it, is it still fulfilling?
Or does part of the meaning come from it reaching the people it was meant for?
It’s a quiet tension we might feel. We can spend years refining our craft, creating something with care and depth… and yet, without visibility, our work remains in the shadows.
Early Lessons in Visibility
It was February 2001. The dot-com bubble had just burst, and I had just launched my first website. Not exactly the perfect timing for a grand debut.
The service was called 24-internet. I offered web hosting and domain name registration, teaching myself HTML and CSS and programming late into the night. I didn’t have investors or a marketing budget, just pure curiosity and fresh determination.
I gained 400+ customers over a few years. Back then, you needed to do some marketing but you could add your site to a few online directories and, soon enough, you would get discovered.
I may have been short on wisdom back then, but I gained valuable lessons in offers, visibility, and providing a real service.
Like a Painting in the Attic
An artist may create a masterpiece, but if it’s stored away in an attic, its colours never move or inspire anyone. Once it’s hung in a place where people can see it, it takes on a life of its own.
Our work can be like that. We can create something with care, depth, and integrity, and it can remain unseen.
The value of the work doesn’t disappear without an audience, but its ability to impact others does.
Art is always better when it’s seen. A poem gains new life in the mind of a reader. And the same is true for the ideas, frameworks, and coaching we create.
I’ve often fallen into the trap many coaches or solopreneurs do, spending hours shaping thoughtful work, then putting it away, assuming that if it’s good enough, it will somehow be discovered.
But the truth is, quality and visibility are companions. A brilliant idea hidden away impacts fewer people than an imperfect idea shared at the right time.
Making Work Visible
As Kahlil Gibran wrote, “Work is love made visible.” And when we allow our work to be experienced, that love travels outward, finding its way into the lives of others.
It’s tempting to see visibility as a distraction from the deeper work we care about. But over time, I’ve come to see it differently.
Visibility is not about chasing attention; I like to think about it as opening pathways so the people who need our work can find it.
Each time your work meets the person it was meant for, its value expands.
The real art is in holding both: remaining true to the heart of what you create, while also guiding it into the world where it can do the most good.
Consider these invitations:
- Share the path, not just the destination. Let people see the questions you’re exploring, the ideas you’re testing, and the reflections that shape your work.
- Choose a home for your voice. 1-2 platforms that you can distribute to, visited regularly can create more connections than spreading yourself thin and not taking action.
- Let unfinished ideas breathe in public. Early stages often hold an authenticity and openness that polished work sometimes loses.
- Tell the human story behind the insight. The “aha” moments are often as valuable as the conclusions they lead to.
- Build relationships before you need them. Visibility grows best in networks of trust and mutual generosity.
Twenty-four years after that first project ‘24-internet’, I see the world differently.
Our role is not only to create your best work, but also to guide it into the world so it can meet the people it was made for.
Work that remains unseen still holds value, but when it’s allowed to reach others, it takes on a new life.
