The greatest challenge facing many people and organizations today is their inability to stand out when what they are offering appears to most people as the same products or services that everyone else is offering.
When we continually compete and compare ourselves to others, we become trapped in their game, and worse – we lose all creative freedom to express the best that is within ourselves. Without creative expression, we become mechanical in our approach and miss out on the pure enjoyment of being who we are while doing what we love to do.
Now is the time to stop competing to be the best in the same game everyone else is playing. It’s time to create your own game and your own playing field. So how do you create this “competitor free” zone and set yourself apart from the competition? The answer is simple – be different, and not just for appearance sake, you must find a way to make a unique and meaningful contribution to the businesses and lives of the people you serve.
Definition of Unique [yoo-neek]
Existing as the only one, having no like or equal;
Unparalleled; incomparable
Those who compete to be unique are not as focused on conventional ways of doing things, they focus on what makes them come alive and light up while doing it! They know that ultimately what the world needs is more people and organizations operating with passion, purpose and authenticity.
Competing to be unique requires you to decide who you are and what you are going to do but it also requires you to decide who you are not and what you are not going to do. You cannot be everything to everyone and competing to be unique will bring with it many critics as you are not trying to conform, you are trying to create.
Do you compete on price?
In business, we are often caught in what’s called a commodity trap or “competitive convergence” which is when we find ourselves competing primarily on price because in the consumer’s eye, we all look the same.
When we are able to create and communicate our unique and meaningful contribution, we create a competitor-free zone. This is where we no longer need to pursue business because the contributions we are making attract an abundance of customers. When an organization or person reaches this point of attracting business, it can then spend time more and more time creating extraordinary customer experiences and improving their products/services.
This is where your business becomes exciting and fun and you find yourself going to work for the pure pleasure it brings to your life. You will begin to feel empowered to give up non-productive and unprofitable relationships and focus on highly profitable and mutually rewarding relationships where you share common values.
Begin the journey to compete to be unique.
Until next time, make it count.
Richard Robbins