Why do we always feel the need to be different? I feel like this is for creatives, creative business owners, artists because I think that it’s not only about why do we feel the need to be different, but we use this need to be different, and we extra size ourselves from people finding us or knowing who we are and what we do. So, we end up thinking that being different is better. Don’t get me wrong. Being different is an amazing thing. But I think that we seem to always miss that being uniquely who we are is actually how we can be different. So you don’t have to try too hard to be different. And that’s how your thirst for being different is stopping you from being successful.
Have you ever seen someone who was trying really hard to be different or really hard to stand out? And it just ended up translating as corny.
Trying to be different often leads to confusion and no sense of direction.
People tried to be different so much that they confuse other people, especially when it comes to business. So we know that business is really about solving a problem for someone and getting paid to solve that problem. It’s really an exchange.
So, when it comes to business, in the thirst to be different, a lot of us confuse our audience and the people that might potentially want to buy from us because we want to be different and proves that we are great at so many different things.
Have you ever met someone who you asked them? Hey girl, what do you do? And they tell you I’m an artist-designer-lawyer…All those different things at once. When you do that, you will start to confuse your ideal customer. They would not know what to do actually enjoy doing, and how can you best help them. In that thirst to be different or to really stand out, we end up confusing people as to how we can really help them as business owners. Trying to be different by doing many things at once is actually stopping you from being successful.
So, I want to ask you:
Are you struggling specifically with being known for one thing or choosing that one thing that you actually want to be known for?
Most of us are multitalented, multi-passionate. We are educated in different layers. We go with the fact that we don’t want to leave something behind, “what if I’m missing out on being the most popular cat sitter if I choose real estate”
The thing about it is that if you focus on too many things, you never get the opportunity to be known for something specific and then move on. Or, if you’re focusing on five different things that you are doing, it’s hard for you to focus on being successful at one thing, and therefore, is stopping you from being successful.
So, you end up giving your attention to five different things and not tapping into that one thing that you can actually be great at.
One thing that I had to really learn is that I can be multi-passionate. I can be passionate about different things, but when it comes to my business and the thing that I am putting myself out there for the most, that needs to be clear, clean, cut. It needs to have no questions about how I’m able to serve my ideal client.
For example, I had to pick back in the days. I’m a lover of fashion style design hair, makeup, all of these things. But I realized that I was able to help people the most by helping them get over the fear of getting on camera to sell their products and services.
Usually, your passion for what you do comes from something that you were able to get over or become really great at. It’s the thing that you have to decide that will make you money. I decided to help people get over the fear of cameras and sell their products. And, if one day, later on, I can launch a clothing line, I will too.
Another example can be Rihanna. She got known for singing. She became a worldwide superstar. And even though people still keep asking her for that album, guess what? She may not have been able to launch a successful skincare and makeup line if she was not Rihanna. Let’s just be honest about it. If she was Robin Fenty in Barbados at 19 years old, wanting to come out and do that, nobody would know who Rihanna was at that time or who Robin was at that time. She used her career as a springboard in order to do what you really wanted to do later on. So, you don’t have to leave the things that you’re passionate about behind.
You want to have a successful business, but you’re not picking one thing, and it’s stopping you from being successful.
You’re not picking the thing that can solve an immediate problem that someone is looking for. And I feel that it comes from that need to be different.
Sometimes it can be because you’re not sure which one to choose. But sometimes it comes from a place of fear. It can be the fear of picking one thing and failing at that thing.
Let me be transparent.
I remember I’ve always been passionate about video content. I started teaching about it in 2015.
And I remember at one point I was just 2015. It was pretty early for video content and people really teaching and sharing about video marketing. Now it’s essential, but I remember labeling myself a video strategist. At that time, everyone was linking strategists to their name because it sounded really good. But then I had to come to the point where I had to understand that people weren’t really looking for the average person or my ideal customer was not going online to look for a video strategist.
And so I had to then start thinking about what do I want to be known for and how do people call it. So, I went with video sales and marketing coach, because that’s super easy. You need video marketing, you need to learn how to sell on camera, and don’t be afraid of evolving and growing into your best itself. Next year, I might change my title, but this year I feel like it’s pretty simple. If I say, Hey, I’m a video sales and marketing coach.
Speak like your audience
What title are you using so that your ideal customer doesn’t have to guess too much to figure out how you can help them?
Another thing that we do to sabotage ourselves in the whole conversation of being different is that we tell ourselves to not do something because everyone is doing it. I had to learn that if everyone is doing something, there’s something about it. That works. You have to check yourself in situations like that example.
I can say that I’m not doing reels because everyone is doing it or I’m not doing Instagram stories because everyone is doing it. When in reality, everyone is doing it because it works. There’s something about it that works. And that’s where you have to figure out if wanting to be different is keeping you back from really getting to where you need to be.
There are so many things that we have to think about when we own a business or when we are building a personal brand. But one thing that can help us stay grounded is thinking and asking ourselves is how we think about ourselves and our desires, right?
How you think about what you want to accomplish and the action that you’re actually taking to accomplish is what really makes you different.
Consistency makes you different because you are always showing up.
Dedication makes you different because people know that you are really committed to helping them be successful in whatever it is that they are doing as it pertains to your business.
Those things make you different.
You committing to the bigger picture and still showing up after years at what you do really makes you different.
Those things make you different because 95% of people aren’t willing to commit. Most people aren’t willing to show up. They aren’t willing to fail in front of a lot of people. They aren’t willing to just put themselves out there.
Be yourself!
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Xo,
X
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