Eric Siu argues that external validation isn't necessary for valuable work. He points to major scientific and cultural innovations that came from people who were unappreciated in their lifetimes, showing that recognition often comes later, if at all.
There are so many great cases of some of the biggest innovations in our world, whether scientific or culturally, are when people weren't even appreciated during their life at all. And yet I'm so glad that they lived and they worked hard on these things that they got no external validation for, because clearly they were really, really valuable.
