Most people want their ideas to be instantly understood. I want you to consider a different approach.
When you make people zoom in—when you create content that requires deeper examination—you’re doing something powerful: you’re filtering out the shallow thinkers.
The surface skimmers don’t make it past your first layer. The status quo defenders bounce off your ideas like cosmic radiation against a spacecraft’s shield. And you know what? That’s exactly what you want.
The Value of Depth in a Surface-Level World
We live in an age of information skimming. The average person spends less than 15 seconds on a webpage before deciding to stay or leave. Social media has trained us to scroll, double-tap, and move on without truly engaging.
But real innovation doesn’t happen at the surface level. Breakthrough ideas rarely reveal themselves at first glance.
Think about it. Would SpaceX exist if Elon Musk had only been interested in ideas everyone immediately understood? Would artificial intelligence be advancing at its current pace if researchers only pursued concepts that made sense to the average person?
Of course not.
The Astronaut Metaphor
Consider the image of an astronaut walking on the red Martian landscape. Some people will see it and think, “Cool picture.” They’ll double-tap and scroll on.
But others will pause. They’ll consider what it represents:
- The culmination of thousands of brilliant minds working together
- Decades of persistence through failure and setback
- The human drive to explore beyond known boundaries
- A future where our species exists beyond Earth
The difference between these two groups isn’t intelligence—it’s depth of thinking and willingness to engage.
Finding Your True Audience
Here’s a truth most content creators and innovators need to hear: If everyone immediately gets your vision, you might not be dreaming big enough.
When I started Magai, I could have positioned it as “yet another AI tool.” That would have been easy to understand. But it also would have been forgettable. Instead, I focused on our vision of how AI could fundamentally transform human potential and progress.
Some people didn’t get it. Some still don’t.
And that’s perfectly fine.
Because the ones who did understand? They became our champions. Our community. Our driving force.
How to Create Depth That Attracts the Right People
Creating depth doesn’t mean being deliberately obscure or using complex jargon. Instead:
- Include multiple layers of meaning in your work. Surface-level value for casual observers, deeper insights for those who engage longer.
- Ask provocative questions that challenge assumed limitations or conventional thinking.
- Use metaphors and analogies that require mental unpacking but reward that effort with profound insight.
- Leave strategic gaps in your explanations that invite curious minds to connect the dots themselves.
- Challenge comfortable assumptions even when it might cost you some audience members.
The content that makes people think—that makes them zoom in—builds a different kind of relationship with your audience. It creates a sense of discovery and co-creation.
Walking Your Red Planet
Every truly innovative leader has had to walk their own version of Mars—a landscape others considered uninhabitable or impossible to traverse.
They’ve faced skepticism, confusion, and sometimes outright mockery. Yet they continued because they understood something fundamental: the most valuable paths are rarely crowded.
Your “red planet” might be:
- A business model that challenges industry assumptions
- A creative approach that breaks conventional formats
- A technological solution that seems impractical—until it works
- A philosophical position that goes against popular opinion
Whatever form it takes, have the courage to walk it even when others don’t see what you see.
The Only Audience That Matters
Remember this: the ones who take the time to understand your vision—who zoom in and engage with your deeper layers—those are your people.
They’re the ones who will champion your cause, spread your message, and help bring your vision to life. They’re the deep divers and pattern seekers who appreciate the complexity of truly innovative ideas.
And they’re the only ones who matter.
Keep making them zoom in. Keep challenging their perspective. The surface skimmers were never going to help you change the world anyway.
