Growing up, we often look towards a person who seems to epitomize everything that we want and want to be. Every arena seems to have such “superheroes”. Entrepreneurs look towards Steve Jobs, athletes look towards Michael Jordan or David Beckham, bloggers look towards Seth Godin.
There’s always someone else who seems to have it all – and we always look to replicate the success of that someone by trying to be that person. We buy the apparel the superstar uses, the books they promote, the products they swear by, and so on.
But that strikes me as strange. In the first place, these people came to be who they were because they strove to be different from the pack. They found their niche, worked hard at it, and carved out their own brand and success in a way that never existed before.
In a sense, they elevated themselves above the game, and brought it to another level entirely.
The human race advances because of these “superheroes”. These people who took hold of their unique set of talents and abilities, and used it to change the game.
So I realized this: If we want to do the same (i.e. change the game, be unique, be spectacular, and so on), we don’t need to copy someone great. Whether we’re playing sports, videogames, or playing for real money from these sites – we need to be ourselves, and be really good at it.
You wield a unique set of talents and abilities, that only you and you alone possess. Whether you can harness these to elevate the game, is up to you. But, for starters, stop copying others, stop waiting to be picked, or lamenting the fact that you don’t have what these great people did. You have something better – you have yourself.
And yourself has the potential to be better than the best.