You Have No Competition

By Michael Roderick  -  On 01 Apr, 2015 -  0 comments

You only have people around you who specialize in a different area than you.

I meet a lot of people who get really worried about the idea of competition. From startup founders afraid someone will steal their “idea”, to people in an industry like finance or law where people do very similar work, all the way to coaches and aspiring thought leaders the concern is the same: Someone else is going to be beat me out and get the client before me. When you take a deeper look at statements like that, it’s a really awesome way to take yourself off the hook, right? Just blame the fact that you failed on the wide amount of competition in the industry. Then you don’t have to ask any of the hard questions about your own process or the value you actually provide for the clients you work with. You can just say that someone else has a bigger marketing budget or more offices in Manhattan or any number of other things that make it seem like you can’t possibly compete. A lot of people do that every day. They look at the number of people who are playing on the same field and decide to just take their ball and go home. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t:

  1. No one is YOU – There is no one else who grew up with the same life as you (unless you’re part of an elaborate government cloning experiment) which means that while there are plenty of other people who may have gone to the same school, taken the same tests, or gotten the same certification, there is no one who experienced it in the exact same way you did which means that you have the power to take the information and make it your own. You have a voice, even if right now you are telling yourself you don’t, you do. No matter what you are doing right now in your life, you have a voice and a unique way of doing it that no one else does. Start embracing that voice and start combining it with the work you do and you’ll start to see a very different landscape in front of you.
  2. People get BORED - No matter what we’re doing in life, we eventually get bored if things stay the same. Today I put on new glasses for the first time in 10 years and they don’t look like my old ones. I eventually decided I didn’t want to look the exact same as I had the previous years. A few years back I met a health coach who convinced me to start eating vegetables. If you had asked me a few years before about that, I would have told you that would NEVER happen. Everyone looks for alternatives which means no matter how big any company doing something similar to you there is, there are people out there who are bored with what they have to offer. That includes content. People don’t want to read the same click bait they have been reading for the past few years which means there is enormous opportunity for you to say something different and interesting. Why not try it out? Write something of your own today and post a link to it in the comments. I can promise you at least one person (Me) will read it so you’re already starting at 1. Give it a shot. Let people hear your voice.
  3. Most prefer color over black and white - If you’ve ever colored you know what I’m talking about. The awesome thing about coloring is that you get to choose. You get to decide which colors you want to go where. If you want someone to have a lime green suit, it can happen. Every business and industry is the same way. Look for the variables in your industry and start coloring. Shake things up and say things differently. There will be people who prefer your way of saying it over others and you’ll find that they gravitate towards you no matter what the other people are doing. Every industry and business now has a long tail. Try something new and find the people who like to color with you. You’ll find that you meet the kinds of clients you love working with because they’re coming to you out of excitement and appreciation for YOUR voice.

There is no competition, only specialization.

Show the world how you specialize.

Be YOU.

Battle Boredom.

Get out your crayons.

Your tribe is waiting for you.

Excelsior!