Stop Running Someone Else's Race

Early in my career, I made a mistake I've since watched hundreds of other leaders make: I tried to lead like someone else.

I was watching a successful executive, brilliant, commanding, respected — and I thought: if I do what he does, I'll get what he has. So I mimicked the style. The posture. The approach.

It was exhausting. And it was ineffective. Because it wasn't me.

The day I stopped trying to be a better version of someone else and started becoming a more authentic version of myself, that's when things started working. That's when the relationships deepened, the decisions got clearer, and the results improved.

In The Importance of Being Yourself, I make a distinction I believe is critical: your uniqueness is not a soft quality. It is a strategic advantage. The combination of your background, your instincts, your values, and your perspective is something no competitor can replicate. When you bring that fully to your work, rather than suppressing it to fit a template — it becomes your edge.

I pair this with what I call Tossing the Trash, taking honest inventory of your environment and making hard decisions about what stays and what goes. The people you spend time with. The content you consume. The conversations you engage in. The voices you let into your head.

I have done this work myself. It's not easy. There are relationships I had to step back from, habits I had to break, and inputs I had to eliminate because they were quietly working against the vision I was building. But the result, a life and a business environment that supports rather than undermines your growth, is worth every uncomfortable decision.

You are not in competition with anyone else. The only race you're running is the one with your own potential. Run it on your terms, with your strengths, your values, and your God-given uniqueness fully in play.

That is your greatest competitive advantage.