Don't Worry About Them

When you’re aspiring to do something, it’s very tempting to look at what other people have done, and then emulate them.

Emulating is fine. In many cases, the best way to build momentum is to find someone who has what you want, and then do what they did. It’s a perfectly valid strategy.

But, in time, that strategy will stop working. Because if you do what everyone else does, you will, by definition, be average. And the only way to win the game of average is to be the cheapest.

You probably won’t win that race. You’ll probably come in second, or third, or tenth, or fiftieth. Either way, you lose. There’s only one winner in the race to the bottom.

Eventually, you will find yourself in a position where you must choose.

Do you bet on yourself? Or do you play it safe, and do what everyone else is doing? Ironically, playing it safe only increases your probability of failure.

It takes courage to ignore the masses. It’s so tempting to join the angry mob. We want to belong to the tribe, but the tribe is mostly angry. The tribe is looking for an enemy and looking for an easier softer way. The mob always defaults to average.

Try your best to avoid the mob. Don’t worry about what they’re doing. The only way to be unique is to be yourself, because no one can replicate who you are.

They can try, but then they are the ones playing the losing game.