Stop competing. Start differentiating. How to sit at the top and become a category of one.
Peter Thiel was right, competition really is for losers. Rather than trying to be the best second-best copy of someone else, focus on your unique differences and stack them to create an unmatchable advantage.
Better to be chased than chase
Let’s be real. When we reach that tipping point in our careers where more opportunities come to us rather than us having to hunt, it’s a great place to be.
However this can take at least a decade and the road to these upper echelons is long, uncertain and rocky.
But we can begin increasing our chances of a faster ascent if we focus not so much on what others are doing but more so on what unique advantages we have.
Looking across at the winners in our field can be ok to a point but it can become destructive if we look for too long.
No one wants the second best version of the number one thing.
Be a one of one original
Focus on yourself. Be the best you that you can be. Everything you need to get to the top is within you now.
So in no particular order, let’s unpack some introspective questions where you can find your uniqueness and with it, your own unfair advantages.
Questions to find your uniqueness
- What comes naturally to you?
- What have people complimented you on?
- What do you find yourself doing that takes little effort?
- What can you easily jump into and get started with little fuss?
- What do you do where you lose track of time and your surroundings?
- What feels like play to you?
- What fills you up and leaves you energized?
- What could you do for hours without interruption?
- What’s something you’ve been doing continuously for more than 5 years?
- What have you been doing that people in your field traditionally haven’t been doing?
- What do you find yourself wanting to learn about?
- What topics could you explain to a five-year-old?
- What do you do that gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment?
- What would you do for free?
- What could you sell to someone with little difficulty?
So a lot of questions and yes some definitely will give overlapping answers, but don’t try to force yourself to find a unique answer for each question.
The point is that you are beginning to think primarily by remembering and reasoning with yourself with a handful of different ideas.
Where you go from here is now up to you.
You could double down on the areas that you feel are your strongest, such as the ones that kept reappearing when answering the questions.
Or you could begin to explore some of the areas that you perhaps aren’t the strongest in but are most curious about exploring further.
Or you could go into hyper experimentation mode trialling a couple of different areas at a time in order to separate the great from the good.
Either way, these introspective questions shine a light on yourself and give you a selection of different roads to travel that will leave you stronger than before, and that’s the aim of this exploration.
Finally, I’ll leave you with one simple and important note if you’re feeling a little unsure.
If you go and explore certain areas and you’re still not fully sure what quite clicks for you, and you suffer from a little choice overwhelm, just remember…
When in doubt to commit to your most natural instincts and then apply a healthy dose of persistent patience.
When you do this over a long enough time frame, refreshing the process every few years, you’ll end up with a collection of unique experiences, qualities and characteristics that won’t be matched by anyone in your field.
Happy exploring and experimenting, see you at the top.
