No amount of baldness will make you [1] Seth Godin.

No amount of booger jokes will make you [2] Dave Barry.

No amount of perkiness will make you [3] Rachael Ray.

That’s because you aren’t them. You’re you.

And contrary to what you may believe, that’s an excellent thing to be.

The Only Thing You Can Genuinely Be Is You

When I was doing creativity coaching, I’d hear one phrase over and over:

“I want to be the next _____________.”

The blank would be filled with the name of some latest-and-greatest, or some past master.

It’s good to have [4] models. But don’t confuse the model for the actual thing.

Those models capitalized on their own unique gifts and world view. You should be doing the same.

They may have started out with more than you. Or they may have started out with less. Just the fact that you have the freedom to be reading these words puts you miles ahead of most of the world. It’s up to you to get the most out of what you have.

What Would YOU Do?

We often approach a situation by looking at how it would we handled by someone else.

It might be helpful to explore how someone you admire would approach it, just to get some perspective. But trusting yourself and your own judgment is crucial to success.

Try this…

Imagine that you are going to be magically teleported to some random foreign country. You have 30 minutes to formulate a plan in your head before you’re whisked away. You’ll be given the equivalent of $100 in local currency.

What would your plan entail? Would you:

• Be thinking about shelter, and the pragmatics of surviving?
• Focus on how to use the money to hire others to help you?
• Not concern yourself with details, but be thinking about all the great local cuisine?

The way you plan your imaginary excursion will tell you a lot about how you think. What you know about your skills. Where your weaknesses are.

How you tackle the unknown is a clue into how you approach life.

First and Foremost, You Are You

You have to work in the framework of reality, no matter how hard it might be. The reality is that you are you — not someone else.

Instead of trying to figure out how to be the next someone else, focus on being the first you. Being the first in your own success is so much better than being the hand-me-downs of someone else’s.