We hear it all the time: You’re special! You’re one of a kind! There is no one else in the world like YOU! We’re told that we have special gifts to share with the world.
So we go out and try to use those gifts. We create what our hearts want to create. We try to become what we want to become. We want to be the best at what we do, to do something no one else has ever done before.
Then of course, we realize someone has already done it.
Do any of these sound familiar?
- You pour your heart into an e-course and one day while perusing blog posts, you find that someone has already made a course about the exact same topic.
- You rehearse like a madwoman for weeks and audition for your dream role…and you don’t even make callbacks.
- You feel the call do something great, but no one else seems to have gotten the memo. Your Facebook page only has 10 likes, no one signs up for your mailing list, no one comments on the blog posts you spend hours perfecting.
What the heck do you do when it seems like everyone and their parakeet has already done what you want to do? What about all that “the world needs you” crap you believed? Was it all a lie?
Well, no. That’s the short answer. It’s not a lie, it’s just not the whole story.
Think about it: There are billions of amazing people on this planet, each with gifts and talents, and each with a purpose. There are plenty that have similar gifts and talents as you and that may have similar ambitions. There are lots of artists, teachers, therapists, writers, musicians, healers, massage therapists, etc. Lots of lots of people. There are billions of people with different wants, needs, challenges, and mindsets.
So how are we all special? If we’re all special, then none of us are, right?
The reason there are so many different people with so many of the same gifts is this: Lots of people can benefit from those gifts, but no one person can reach everyone.
And this is where your purpose lies. Sure, there are lots of people who do what you do, but some people that need that work won’t resonate with them. They might resonate with you. Your purpose is to share your gifts with your people. Who are your people? The ones who can receive from you, the ones who resonate with what you do and the way you do it.
That may be a few hundred people. It may be a few thousand. Or it may be a few. And that’s all perfect. Maybe those few couldn’t receive that what they needed from anyone else, and you’re the lucky one who connects with them.
No one can do exactly what you do exactly the way you do it. That’s true of everyone, and that’s what makes each of us distinct from one another. You may blend in with the crowd for some, but to others you will stand out and be the beacon they’ve been searching for.
Do what you do, and do it in the way that feels like YOU. Don’t worry about the “competition”, because there is none. There is only being who you are and doing what you love to do so the ones who are looking for you can find you.
Go on and be your awesome self.
