It's crazy how many times people can give you the same advice, but it just does not stick. Your kindergarten teacher told you "money can't buy you happiness," but you are stuck scrolling through images celebrating wealth and the "finer things in life." Or how someone you can't really remember told you "do what you love and you will never work a day in your life," but you are still following a path someone else took, attempting to mimic each movement to reproduce their success as if it were a mathematics formula.
There is no reason to just do something because someone else does it
Remember when an adult, "blew things out of proportion" and asked you: "if they jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?" Yup. They were right.
In a recent chat with Joseph Shin, he gave the above advice and supported it with anecdotal examples. Joseph is stellar at writing content on LinkedIn, pulling from chats with mentors, or whatever is on his mind. When I asked him about his journey, he reminded me: "success doesn't happen overnight."
Success — whatever metric you use — isn't achieved overnight.
Now, if you measure success by TikTok followers, this piece of advice might not be as valid; however, to master something it takes a lot of practice. Legit. A lot of practice.
I am not sure why the advice clicked this time. Maybe it was the casual tone or the peer to peer connection. Or maybe I just was ready to accept the advice this time, but it finally made sense.
I'm currently diving into Eric Barker's book about science and success, Barking Up The Wrong Tree. In the first chapter, he explains how "filtered leaders" — rule-followers who stick to the status quo and the common path — seldom make a serious impact. Challenge yourself to find your differences from others and exploit them. These differences can become your greatest strengths.
Challenge yourself to find your differences that set you apart and exploit them.
When you realize the validity behind these cliché and truly overused pieces of advice, you start to see the important and impactful connections.
When I look back through my earliest logo designs, especially some I didn't put out for the world to see, I cringe. That's important, it means I have made progress. If you're trying to get off the ground with something, start with cringe-worthy work.
Start with cringe-worthy work.
I mean, have you seen AirBnB's old site?
If you cringe at where you started from, thats good. It means you've made progress.
I learned that lesson from entrepreneurship mentors I had this winter, but of course, like every other piece of advice, I didn't trust it until recently.
Scrolling through LinkedIn posts and tweets, it is way too easy to forget how people got to the amazing places they are at today. If you're constantly comparing yourself to others, you're too closely trying to replicate their path. We are all way too complex to fit into the same formula (at least I hope) and spending time mimicking others does not let your differences flourish.
If you have gotten this far, take time to reflect on the advice you have gotten, but most importantly (this is not cliché advice!) take time to listen to yourself and do what YOU enjoy, because it's true, if you do what you love, you will excel!
To round things off, I'll leave you with a piece of advice I am sure you have never heard 😉. Make sure to remember it!
It's your life.