Monday, January 26th, 2009
Comments... How say you?

Are You Unique?

UniqueRecently, I decided to pursue a passion that I’ve been interested in for many years now.  An industry where odds are almost never in your favor. An industry where there are people who are more than likely better than you.  But then again, this probably sounds a lot like many of the industries out there, doesn’t it?

Other people are better than you

There will ALWAYS be someone better than you, if not now, then later.  If you’d like to argue this point, I’d suggest you take a look at the Guinness Book of World Records. They  release a new book every year because records are continuously broken.  Advancements in equipment, psychology, training, or any thing can help us humans excel in various ways.  Take a look at this past year’s Olympics in China, they created new suites for the swimmers which allowed them to break practically every world record for that category.

Being the best

Many people can argue that you must be the best in order to be successful which I believe to be untrue.  Being the best doesn’t guarantee you anything.  Take a look at actors.  How many actors have you seen who are terrible.  You’re probably a better then some of the actors out there, but they are the ones who are getting paid the millions…why?

Unique

Have you seen the movie Madagascar 2?  Let me explain: There is a zebra played by Chris Rock who thinks he’s the only one of his kind.  The main animals crash their airplane in Africa where the zebra comes to realize that he isn’t the only zebra on the planet.  Chris Rock’s character immediately becomes upset and angry because he feels as if he lost his uniqueness.   Long story short, in the end, he realizes that he is indeed unique, not because of his looks but because of his weird and kooky personality.  Being unique doesn’t automatically make you a superstar, but it does give you that slight advantage.   That slight advantage can easily make or break your career.

Irreplaceable

Uniqueness then brings me to being irreplaceable.  In this economy, people are getting laid off faster than ever and it’s mainly because they are replaceable. Let’s say you made your company 10k a month. If you left and you were replaced by someone else who can make them 10k a month, obviously you were replaceable.  However, if the company lost 10k by you not working there, then that means you carry that uniqueness quality and the ability to be irreplaceable.

Not only does being unique help in giving you some job security, but it can also help you make further advancements in your life and career.

We all say we are unique in our own ways, but how do you use your uniqueness to get further in your life or career?


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  • same
    AJ..

    How about if someone are still confused what he/she want to be in the future even they has a job .Sometimes he/she feel like their jobs are useless.how do we deal with it?
  • If you are at a job (like a part-time-job) or a job you do not plan to stay in before you get into a 'real' job, then you should still be the best at whatever it is you do. If you do data entry, then be the best data entry person. If you make sandwiches at Subway, be the best Sandwich Artist. Being the best is a habit and mindset that you can take with you anywhere.

    This is obviously considering that you have a dream job or industry you want to get into.

    If you do not have a future field that you want to get into and you are just miserable at your current job, take some time and consider exactly what it is that you want to do. Then just go for it :D
  • For me to be unique is to be myself,try to realize my plans ,to think my thoughts,let my dreams come true.But I don't mean I don't parcipate in the other people's life.I want to understand their way of thinking,their plans and dreams and offer my help in the case of need.I am giving that because I hope to get the same.
  • Unleash your creativity. It's what will help your uniqueness unravel.
  • My number one tip to people is to be different. If you aren't different nobody will notice you. You have nothing unique to offer.
  • Exactly, if you're not different, you'll just blend in with crowd
  • I think in this or any market in any situation the best uniqueness that one can bring to their table is their positive cheerful attitude.
  • Your probably right Harnish, it's simple, yet most people are more frantic than cheerful.
  • tom
    I am not sure if parents really want you to be first.

    I do know that many parents are simply bad parents because they try to shape their kids life and telling them what career they should go into. This is probably the worst that can happen and this is why from generation to generation this bad advice gets passed on.

    Some are lucky to break the streak and see it otherwise, but most continue on.
  • Usually, most parents would rather have you be average. This is based on my observation.

    Anyone else?
  • tom
    Well if parents are used to “follow the system” then ya they want you to follow the same path.

    Go to school, get a job, and retire.
    And then if you question that, they give you a page of excuses for doing anything else. Including security.
  • I think that is a good read, being unique applies to a lot of things, where it makes you better of, blogging on unique subjects, in relationships. Thing is we all try to be unique but are we really or are we better just creating a unique position for ourselves in the instance? For example blogging on popular subjects in a unique way can be hard i.e. competive industries like web design or make money online blogs can struggle to stand out but with a creative thinker you can add something that someone else doesn't think of (think outside the box)
  • Exactly, the topic may be the same i.e make money online, but it's how you as a person can stand out.

    Just like any industry, like marketing, with is saturated with very creative people. However, certain people are able to still stand out using their uniqueness.
  • Being the Best or #1 is "OVERRATED". I have an extensive bio in the music industry. I have worked with prodigy's who could not sell 10K records and I have seen "garbage" sell multi-millions of records. The X factor could be a myriad of things: uniqueness, social timing, marketing or work ethic. I often speak about originality as being an important component for success.
  • Being #1 maybe overrated for some, and the greatest thing ever to others. Your right, people can be prodigy's and do terrible while garbage can prevail.

    You are also right on your component for success being originality which is the same as uniqueness :)
  • First let me preface by emphatically stating this is another GREAT POST!

    Clarification:
    All parents teach there children to be THE BEST, which is perfectly logical. I’ve never seen someone tell there child to be #2 or #3. But is Joe Biden not THE BEST because he is Vice President? That’s what I mean by being #1 is overrated. However, I support 100% of individuals establishing there uniqueness.
  • Joe Biden not being the best is arguable, but I do agree with you :)

    And being vice president on a big picture means he is #2 ;)
  • tom
    I was watching the ending of Hells Kitchen season 4 and there was one individual competition they had.
    They had to make 80 servings for 160 pregnant moms.
    The moms had to choose which sandwich was best.

    It came down to Petrozza and Christina, Christina won by 2 votes.
    Sure its only 2 votes but she got to to go on a 1000 shopping spree while the rest were cleaning up the kitchen.

    So yes, in this case 2 votes made a world of a difference.
  • wow good for her!!
  • Sushil Mayer
    Just yesterday (1/26/09) alone, 60,000 job were lost in America. They got rid of the replaceable, the irreplaceable and their moms! We had motto back in H.S. Football: "TO BE THE BEST YOU MUST WORK HARDER THAN THE REST".
  • Hahah.. TBTBYMWHTTR, one of my favorites.

    60,000 people may of been lost, but many people were still able to keep their jobs, and the ones who kept it were the irreplaceable. But your right on it being almost everyone and their moms!
  • tom
    Great article AJ.

    People need to start realizing they are special, unique and have something to give to the world.
    Too many people throw away their passions to work a job they hate because of the "stuff" they accumulated.
    Too many people throw away their passions because of pressure from parents, friends, teachers, etc.

    In the end, who is the person staring back at you in the mirror and saying, What have you done that is so great?
  • well said Tom. You only got 1 life to life, do what your passionate about and why not do it to be the best right?
  • I am happy only when I am what I am.
    If I start using my uniquness, the day may be I am not what I am.
    Or, may be I do not know how to use my uniqueness but yes, everybody is unique.
    :)
  • To clarify, yes everyone is unique, but as I wrote down under what Varinder said, you must have a certain level of uniqueness in order to become successful in most areas and in some cases keep your job.

    Does that make sense?
  • True.
    Yes, certain level of uniquness to be successful. I agree.
    Am I unique ?
  • The question isn't whether or not your unique, because almost everyone is unique in one way or another. The question is, how do you use your uniqueness to get further in your life or career?
  • Am I using my uniqueness ?
    I love to know and do you see it will benefit me in terms of finance in near future.
    :)
  • lol...you tell me what your uniqueness is first!!
  • You know it wasn't until I visited the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland, that I realized that the Guinness Book of World Records is made by the same company that makes the beer. It seems so obvious looking back, but I just never made the connection.

    I used to like beer a lot. But I really didn't like Guinness... to me it's always reminded me of drinking motor oil. I haven't drank motor oil, but Guinness looks like it and has the consistency of motor oil.

    Some people like a beer that feels more like a meal. Believe it or not, though, while in Dublin I decided to give Guinness a try for two reasons:

    1) Because it was local, it might actually taste good to me. I know for a fact beer doesn't travel well because I tasted a LOT of European beers when I traveled... and they don't taste nearly as good here in the US.
    2) There is a version of Guinness in Europe called "Extra Cold." They literally just keep the beer extra cold. I was curious if this might produce a decent Guinness drinking experience.

    My experience was that Guinness Extra Cold, when had in Dublin Ireland at the source, was actually pretty good. My friend thought it was the best beer he ever had.

    I didn't think it was the best beer in the world... but I did think it was very unique.
  • Oh, that's a new one - revealing in fact, so the Guinness beer folks own the Guinness Book of World Records? Hmmm, who said reading blogs like AJ's Persuasive.net isn't educational, :)
  • That's too funny, I never knew that about the book. Guinness is personally one of my favorites :)

    I would be very interested in trying the "extra cold"!!
  • Hey AJ,

    Everyone is unique on this earth. Variety is a sign of life and uniformity is death. We all should grow as different and unique individuals. Some peer pressures may drive you to competitiveness however, it doesn't mean you are inferior or incapable. You are unique.
  • Yes everyone is unique in this planet, however, in order to strive, to become successful, or to even keep your job in some cases, you must stand out from the rest. I guess we can call it higher levels of uniqueness.
  • Very well written... as usual, AJ. Yes, you are absolutely right when you said "there will ALWAYS be someone better than you, if not know, then later". Yes, that's why we should CONTINUALLY strive to excel and beat our yesterday's records. The problem is if we think we are so good that we stop trying to get better. There's never a time when we will be 100% okay at anything. It's the constant striving to remain #1 in anything we do that will help us to keep growing. So, yes, we should have our own personal Guinness Book of World Records in which we break our yesterday's records with better and better achievements each and everyday. Thanks for sharing this, AJ, despite having a broken ankle, :)
  • lol. Yes we should continuously strive to achieve more, faster, stronger,etc. I'm fortunate it wasn't my wrist, else my blogs would be done by one hand with spelling errors left and right ;)
  • Ha ha ha, AJ, so even if it had been your wrist, you would still have tried to continue blogging? Hmmm, that tells a lot about your character - DOGGED (Stubbornly unyielding)!
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