It can be tempting to not even start, because someone is already doing what you want to do. I get it!
It is super scary to try and create something from nothing, especially if you look out there and see someone doing something very similar. It can be very soul destroying and throw you in a spin.
However, they are not you.
They have not grown up with the same experience, same life lens as you have, and I bet you would do it very differently.
If this was not the case, there would not exist computers made by, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple and probably loads of others. They did not look out there and go, oh x is doing it, so I may as well not. They knew what they would do would be different.
That may be an extreme example, so let me get personal.
In Australia there is a very famous stationery provider (Kikki K) who created a course called Live your Dream Life. I must admit when she recently started promoting her course, I felt shattered. She was offering something very similar to what I do.
I am a big fan of Kristina and Kikki K, loyal VIP shopper here. I felt like the wind was kicked from my lunges and the rug pulled up from underneath me.
Even though Kristina is fabulous, she is not me. I already use (with credit of course) some of the questions that Kristina poses in her books, as they are great questions.
From what I have seen, Kristina’s Dream Life course looks good. I attended a recent webinar, to satisfy my curiosity, but it is not like my Design Your Life on Purpose course.
Kristina does not have over 20 years of experience in Organisational Change Management (OCM) and personal coaching. She has not deliberately tested her approach for change with over 18 different organisations.
We both have different delivery methods, content, and approaches
All art is theft! Pablo Picasso
Or as Austin Kleon says – “Steal Like an Artist”
This is not being disrespectful of artists. Austin claims, and I agree that the work of artists is built on the work of others. Artists take what is already good and reinterpret it or dial up elements.
Art is not the only field this happens in, Science is another great example. Scientific advances are on the back of breakthroughs from others or solving a problem a different way.
A lot of things needed to be in place for Uber and AirBnB to be able to source drivers or hosts and passengers and guests, they built that off other things that already existed.
You will never know if you do not try
This can seem super harsh and it’s not the way I roll, but you never know unless you try. Once you take the first few steps, you start to see more options and possibilities.
Ways to differentiate yourself will emerge, so what you are doing stands out from the others.
Fun fact there are over 66,000 thousand Hairdressers registered in Australia 2008-2022 (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Not a small number and each one would be different
After sitting in on the Kikki K webinar, I was thrown off track for a little while. I had to remind myself that I am unique and different, just as I am doing for you right now. My offering is just as valid and compelling as Kristina’s is.
Saying to myself, “keep going Christina.” (weird how we are both Christina’s – but are different, even in the spelling).
So, what does this mean for you?
Your thing will never be exactly the same as someone else, it can’t. So, give yourself permission to unearth possibilities and explore what might be with your little area of quirkiness and expertise.
The easiest way to get started on your Strategic Life Map would be to join me on Design your Life on Purpose, on Saturday the 6th November.
Here is what you need to know about Design Your Life Program
Workshop part of program on Saturday 6th November
Program is limited to 12 people to ensure personalised attention
The work is individual, it focuses on YOU and what you want from your life
It is wholistic – treating you as a whole human being with responsibilities
Delivered by someone who knows CHANGE. Over 20 year’s experience in Organisational Change Management (OCM) with Personal Coaching
Of course, all the information is under this link.
Look to what others are doing to understand what makes you different, but do not let it derail you. You are unique and you deserve to share this with the world.
Yours Collaboratively
CMM
INCAHOOTS EXISTS…
To guide professionals who have deferred their dreams, to unearth possibilities to design a strategic life map that answers the question - now what?
ABOUT THIS CHRISTINA MORGAN-MELDRUM (CMM) PERSON
I am coach, facilitator, author, change professional and creative. I particularly love helping people and organisations unearth what’s possible to design a future that suits them perfectly (a Strategic Lifemap).
I have cultivated the ability to walk into any industry; see what is not seen, distil what is complicated, and simplify the chaos. This skill has been forged in a deliberate and concentrated way for over 20 years, through Personal Coaching and working in Organisational Change Management. Bottom Line is… I know CHANGE. I know how to plan for change, how to start change, how to adjust change in progress, how to track change and how to embed change.
I fill my time on various side hustles, blogging, creating and learning the piano. If you are looking for me, look for me at my spiritual home JB Hi-Fi, exploring stationery stores or artisan markets.