A tough read for the weak…
This year, challenge conventional wisdom: shift your focus away from mirroring your industry peers.
Unpopular opinion: by modeling others, most entrepreneurs will simply stay average or fail.
Many fall into the trap of believing that success lies in replicating the efforts of others in their field. This approach is often touted as the ‘shortcut to success’ by the gurus.
However, this mindset is flawed. “If it works for them, it must work for me.”
Wrong.
Consider the irony when people cite innovators like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos as their role models, yet follow a path of imitation. But did those leaders get to where they are by going to industry conferences and copying everyone else?
Of course not.
I’ve seen many incoming clients copy everything from their competition – content, websites, tactics. They buy cookie-cutter solutions sold at seminars…so they now end up with/ the same cookie as their competition.
Why do they fall for it?
Simply.. because they can check every box: we have a website, we tried some ads, we posted on LinkedIn. As long as they make some effort, they presume success is around the corner. It’s a false sense of progress.
While examining industry best practices has some merit, blindly following the herd rarely leads to breakthrough innovations. The most successful industry disruptors are willing to buck the status quo and do things differently than everyone else.
Take Elon Musk for example. When he first proposed SpaceX, he faced skepticism and doubt because the aerospace sector was dominated by huge defense contractors and NASA.
Musk did not model anyone. He didn’t hit the booth at a conference to sign up for Rocket-Making Made Easy.
The shortcut to real success is not modeling – it’s standing out from everyone else. It’s turning your back on the temptation of social proof and forging your path. Stop taking a shortcut by following others.
Where’s the fire that once burned
when you started this path?
What happened to you?
Success demands boldness and not following the beaten path.