This is an interesting observation about the fact that when the Wright brothers made their historic first flights, no one noticed. Seriously - no newspaper coverage for weeks.
Just kidding.
You may well toil at your mission and your passion for a while. And while you're working, no one is noticing. Your work may be wonderful, but the notoriety, the fame, the accolades? They're all going to someone else.
So what do you do?
You keep working. There is no other choice.
If you're only chasing the quick fame of a headline, you'll be sacrificing the deeper impact that comes with longevity. And the difference between 15 minutes of fame and meaningful history-making is a little word called "legacy."
Great work that creates meaning builds a legacy; quick work that creates attention builds hyperbole.
It turns out that headlines rarely change the world anyway. Legacy does.
Do the work and people will notice. Eventually.
And when they do, they'll never forget.