3 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd
Most people don’t follow this advice – Issue #31
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Some people have strengths and talents that enable them to be successful in life and excel in their chosen profession and career.
These are primarily innate talents and traits. You are born with them to a large degree. Can you learn, practice, and increase the level of each? Yes, but only when there is already a natural, strong base.
The harsh truth that most of us face at some point in our lives is that we aren’t the smartest, fastest, strongest, prettiest, or most talented person in the room. Does that mean you are doomed and will never wildly succeed in your life and career?
No, not at all. But it does mean that you need a strategy that doesn’t depend on innate talent to carry the day.
There is hope
You may not always be the smartest, most talented, and most creative person in the room. However, there are three fundamental ways that you can stand out from the crowd to achieve great success in your career and life.
You need to be:
Persistent
Consistent
Resistant
I don’t just mean somewhat persistent, consistent, and resistant. You must exhibit heroic levels of each.
However, the great news is that anyone can do this if they are truly willing, ambitious, and stubborn. These three “superpowers” have made all the difference in the world in my life.
Be Persistent
When I’m trying to learn something new or solve a problem, I refuse to give up. I get tunnel vision and I persist until I get it done, one way or the other. It sometimes drives my wife crazy.
It has served me well in my career, though. There were times that people gave up and said something was impossible. I refused to quit and found a way to get it done. More than one of my managers said that this was why they promoted me.
Daniel Goleman would call this “Grit” and he believes that it is one of the biggest predictors of your success. Angela Lee Duckworth also gave a fascinating TED talk on the subject; Grit: the power of passion and perseverance.
Persistence isn’t a magical superpower that only a few are allowed to have. Anyone can do this! Anyone can set their sights on something, be persistent, and keep grinding to make it happen.
It is hard work and requires serious commitment, which is why most people tap out. However, you can stand out from the crowd when you are someone who simply does not give up.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” — Calvin Coolidge
Be Consistent
When I bother to create a new habit, I am extremely consistent with it. For example, for the past 10 years, I have been working out almost every day of the week. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I do my workout in some shape or form.
James Clear has an excellent story on the power of consistency. Process beats setting goals. Systems will beat vision. Focus more on what you will consistently do every day and you will accomplish more than dreaming about what you want.
Many people like to daydream about their future. They fantasize about accomplishing great things. But, they don’t put in the consistent efforts that will make them come true. They don’t build the habits necessary for lasting success.
I do like to plant a flag on the horizon. I’m not completely opposed to setting goals. But, I think people fall in love with goals and planning. Then, they get discouraged when things go wrong (as they always do eventually). Or, they burn out and give up on the consistent actions that are required.
Fall in love with the daily process and enjoy the journey. The results are a side effect. They’re nice, of course. It’s fun to celebrate the wins along the way. I’m not an “all work and no play” kind of person.
But, when you truly love the process you will endure the setbacks and hard times. A failure here or there doesn’t destroy you. You become bulletproof.
If you keep on keeping on, you can’t help but see solid results. You will stand out from the crowd of other people who daydream and make resolutions but give up on the consistent daily habits that make success possible.
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. ” — Aristotle
Be Resistant
Telling you to be resistant might a nicer way to say that you should be “extremely stubborn.” If someone tells me that I can’t do something, I will do it to prove them wrong. Maybe I’ll even do it twice.
Being stubborn has caused some issues during my lifetime. However, more often than not, it enables me to achieve things that shouldn’t have been possible for someone like me. Or, at least that’s what I was told.
I was told that I was too poor to go to college. Oh really? I got a scholarship and I worked several jobs through college to make my way to graduation.
I was told that I was too old to apply to graduate school at 24 years old. Yes, 24 was considered ancient. I worked with my favorite professor and advisor to create a compelling application that got accepted into multiple graduate programs before settling on Rice University.
I was told that I would never finish my Ph.D. if I accepted a job at Apple. I worked night and day for 6 months to make sure that didn’t happen.
How many times has someone told you that you weren’t good enough to do something? How many times have they told you what you should do instead? I have friends who were coerced into being doctors and lawyers because their parents wanted it. It wasn’t because they wanted to spend their lives that way.
Resist anyone who tells you what you can and cannot do with your life. They don’t know the fire and drive that you have inside. They don’t fully understand what you are capable of doing if you persist.
They don’t have to live your life. Only you do.
So many people let others tell them what they can and cannot do. They let others influence their perception of what they are capable of accomplishing. Stand out from the crowd by being someone who resists being controlled by others. Chart your own path.
“Don’t let others define you. You define yourself.” — Ginni Rometty
I know that you have unique talents, skills, knowledge, and experience. Everyone has something that is special about them. Some people are more talented than others. Some have more knowledge and experience. Some people have developed more skills.
The good news is that you don’t need to worry if you are not the absolute best at everything. You don’t have to be in order to succeed in life.
But, you do need to be persistent, consistent, and resistant. Innate talent will only take people so far. However, those three behaviors will take you the rest of the way.
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