Not sure if anything changed my approach to work and engineering in the past five years more than this passage from @Lethain, written in the context of staff engineering but much more broadly applicable.
you actually don't need everyone to understand you or what you do and you're probably working on something too safe if they all easily do. your knowing you don’t need them to understand is also exactly what makes them want to
More recently I’ve kept repeating to myself, don’t abandon your vision . Decisiveness is knowing myself well enough to take the plunge, then the rest is all faith.