all things bright and beautiful
how to stand out, pt. 1
tonight i found myself thinking about primary school.
we’d start the day with assembly — short sermons, prayers, and hymns before classes began at 8:00 a.m. the hymns were a big deal. you could make an orchestra out of the crowd. the synergy, the voice splits — treble, alto, soprano — were instant and precise. instead of chaos, there was beauty.
one hymn still lingers in my head: all things bright and beautiful. i only remember the first and last stanzas. funny enough, that’s true for many hymns i recall.
it made me wonder:
why do we mostly remember the first and the last of a thing?
turns out, to stand out, to be memorable — you either need to be the first or the last.
being first gives you the power to set the tone. you’re the pioneer, the reference point.
being last gives you visibility — you’re the final imprint, the closing note.
and this applies to more than hymns.
in relationships, people often say your first love is unforgettable — no matter how bitter or sweet. and you’re most likely to settle down with the last person, the one who stays. i personally relate to the first love theory. it marks you in a way that lingers.
as a designer, i’ve seen this play out in real time. when pitching ideas — whether to friends, clients, or critique circles — the first concept shown sometimes wins because it sets the benchmark. other times, it’s the last, the final thing they remember. everything in between? it blurs.
it’s the same in business and startups.
think video — you think youtube. first to do it big, and still the standard.
then came tiktok. it was the last major player to enter, but it changed everything — format, rhythm, attention span.
think ai — you think chatgpt. first to plant a flag in public consciousness.
but now, new players like deepseek are entering the scene. it’s not the first, but it’s showing up as the last serious challenger — open-source, multilingual, and quietly building its own momentum.
in most spaces, the first defines the game.
the last redefines it — or disappears.
personally, i’d rather be first. being last can go both ways. in an interview or a pitch, the final slot might sound ideal — until the audience is drained and itching for a break. in trends, the last to adopt is often the one left behind. in multi-level marketing? the last always loses.
but that’s by the way.
the question remains:
in whatever room you find yourself, whatever project, pitch, product —
will you be first, or last?
