We’ve all seen articles, and stories of the following kind:
“What do top performers have in common?”
“Top CEOs all follow this one simple trick.”
“X practice is the best, and used by all famous…”
When I see those articles, my first response is always to shake my head. As someone who has literally been couch-surfing-poor and now owns my own Yacht, multiple IPs, and more, following the examples of those who have ‘made it’ is the worst advice that can be possibly made.
The reason for this is simple:
To succeed, you have to bring something new to the table.
This means that whatever you do, you’re going to be blazing a trail. You are doing something different, something old but in a different way, something new, something old but to a new demographic, etc., or even something new in a new way to a new demographic. And this means, whatever you’re doing, you’re going to have to think and act in a new way, different than anyone else has before. What works for the current big-wigs might not work for you.
If you want to succeed, instead of idolizing those above you socially, you need to idolize those below you.
The reason for this is simple. When you idolize someone, you’re fascinated with them, you want to learn every detail. If you’re selling a new product, you need to learn everything about your customers, their likes, dislikes, preferences, and why they choose you, what makes them tick. What problems they face, and ask yourself how you can help. If you’re trying to start a movement, those in the movement’s drive is the key factor. If you’re just trying to sell a book, understanding your fans is crucial. If you’re building a factory to produce a new product, understanding the struggles of your workers is key to smoothing out the process and increasing throughput. They key takeaway is, is these are only things that can be learned by looking inward, downward, and outward… upward is neigh useless. Sure, self-improvement is great, but the way you’ll need to improve yourself for your niche will be different than for those in other niches.
