Brogan. Godin. Gary Vee. Babauta. Fried. You’ve heard the names. You’ve (maybe) read the books. Hell, we’ve even given them out here at Untemplater. Look at any online niche, and you’re gonna find superstars and folks that have made a name for themselves. And the vast majority have worked their asses off to get where they are. And good for them. This post isn’t meant to bash those who have been successful. But what do they have to do with you? At the end of the day, not much. Because you aren’t them. What worked for them may not work for you. So enough with the hero worship. There comes a point where being successful means being your own person.
Since I’m always one for real-world examples, I’ll use….myself. Take a look at my twitter stream, http://twitter.com/norcross. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Now, without reading my bio, guess what I do for a living. Would you guess web design / development? Probably not. That’s what I do, though. Or maybe fiduciary money manager? I REALLY doubt you’d guess that. But I worked in banking and finance for over 10 years. In fact, I still have my Series 7 license. But my twitter stream consists of me swearing, posting weird pictures I find on the net, articles / posts I like, and having conversations with folks. Oh, and my son. Lots of pics of my son. My point? Almost none of it relates to what I actually do for a living. However, I’ve built my freelance business because of twitter. And when I say ‘built’, I mean ‘all my leads have come from word of mouth recommendations and helping people on twitter’. Not bad for a tattoo’d almost 30 year old who like to say “fuck” a lot. But people can see me, know exactly what I am all about, and feel comfortable knowing that there isn’t some persona being displayed to the world. Yes, I also do good work. That certainly helps. But I’m not some bland feed of industry-specific information or RT machine that parrots everyone else. In the words of Pinocchio, “I’m a real boy!”
So think about what you do. Or what you want to do. What you’re building, shooting for in life. I bet there are some folks in that space who are well known. Keynote-level people. Stop hanging on their every word. Stop sharing everything they scribble onto a page. Stop trying to be them. If you’re going to study anything about them, look at their work ethic, not their particular methods. Because they worked hard to get where they are. There isn’t a silver bullet that will get you there. Nor will reading the latest guru book. It’s working your ass off, and actually doing good work that pays off in the end.
Thank you! Whenever I read the comments on Brogan’s blog, I get a mental image of the Squeeze Toy Aliens in Toy Story (the original, not the sequels) where they all look up at Buzz when he first emerges from the chute in the claw machine. http://dogwalkblog.com/claw.jpg
It’s sickening to a point, isn’t it. The strange part is that a lot of those folks don’t even WANT the type of idol worshipers they end up getting.
Can I get an amen?!
One thing is to give credit where it’s due, but it’s a whole other thing to blindly follow and worship someone because they found their success. Great, good for them. Doesn’t mean you will by following them. I’ve never been a fan of having a “hero” or idol. I could never answer that question as a kid; still can’t as an adult.
Find your own success.
Excellent, Andrew! Trying to be someone else never works. I was recently at a panel discussion where well-known bloggers were discussing monetization. They shared information about video, plugins and other technical stuff. Most in the room dutifully took copious notes so they could implement the steps suggested. In the end, though, the speakers succeeded because of who they are, not because of the plugins. There is something about their enthusiasm, outrageousness or personal voice that resonated with their audience. I could follow all of the steps they outlined, but would still not be where they are.
Keep on being your own badass, tattooed self! You’re fabulous!
Straight to the point and ON friggin’ point. Sometimes it’s easy to consume consume and consume some more based on what we feel others are doing right. Then we whine and complain about why we never thought about it. At least, I’ve been there and still do every now and then. This was a great bucket of icy water on the noggin though.
Glad I could be your personal water bucket man…hahahaha!
I had no idea you weren’t a full-time code-wrangler. Color me surprised.
I mix it up with design and development. I don’t work in the wild world of finance anymore, though. My soul couldn’t take it.
Ah. Got it now.
And I know what you mean about the soul-crushing nature of many corporate jobs. I made the jump not too long ago.
I think this concept extends much farther than just within our community, it seeps deep into society as a whole and that is so unhealthy. When you idolize someone, it’s easy to pretend that you are actually being productive. By reading their stuff, watching keynotes and buying their products, you can easily trick yourself into thinking that there is some treasured secret to find if you keep digging. If you stop trying to use smoke and mirrors, you’ll discover that the work of others is a fantastic way to get your creativity rolling, but only if action is actually taken.
Idol worship in some manner of speaking has existed as long as people have. I think the difference now is that (a) those idols are much more accessible and (b) there’s a way to see what they do. But I agree that it becomes a sickness almost of trying to emulate those people beyond a reasonable level. I’m all for mentors and learning from those with the experience, but it’s become perverted into something else.
I’ve spent hundreds of dollars trying to learn what worked for other people, but have recently realized that extrapolating applicable knowledge and applying it to my situation will only get me so far. They’re not living my dream, so doing what they do won’t work. Ever since I’ve decided to say “to hell with what they do,” I’ve been happier and less insecure about risks I wanted to take… Amazing how my head stops hurting when I stop hitting it with a hammer.
Oscar Wilde knew what was up when he said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Thanks for writing this.
While I haven’t spent much money on other folks stuff (since my arena doesn’t have a lot of that- yet) but I can’t begin to count the hours spent on looking at how others design, code, and build. Outside of some technical how-to’s, I didn’t walk away with much. I didn’t start becoming successful until I started designing the way I knew how.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yeah, I agree.
And I luv the examples you have listed here, but comparison is for losers.
Some people say you should model successful people, but that’s useless unless you main the basics (focus,determination etc.)
Only listen to the voice within. It already knows where you need to go.
Personality begins when comparison ends.
Agreed. There’s nothing wrong with getting to know what others in your space / niche do. Because at the end of the day, no one is an island. But unless you’re employed by them, stop jacking them off.
Love this post Andrew!
There is no particular road to success, and many people get caught up in following another person’s path. If there’s one thing we can take from them, let it be work ethic, which is probably the main factor that led them to where they are today.
I like your idea of being yourself online (Twitter, FB, or other social media and your web presence overall). I’m just starting to grow my blog/biz and I will certainly keep this in mind. Like most people, I follow some awesome and successful bloggers and online businesses. They obviously all have different styles and methods of interacting with others online. What is consistent, however, is that they work their asses off on a consistent basis. That’s something that I strive to emulate.
You’ve hit it. There is nothing wrong with keeping up and following those folks. Hell, most are all too willing to teach. But it needs to end there. Trying to BE them isn’t gonna help anyone.
Can I get an Hallelujah!?! Hero worship and mimicry is the biggest waste of time. Look at the most successful entrepreneurs – did they make it by trying to be somebody else, or did they have a great idea, enact discipline into their project execution, and use their unique characteristics to get things done? I would argue it is the latter.
I’m also very wary of people who have “made it,” and are oh-so-willing to dole out their sage wisdom and “how-to’s” in their latest book or webinar (there’s one in particular that I can’t stand, but I’ll keep that one in the Trunk). It comes down to those things you said: hard work, sacrifice, dedication, persistence.
I StumbledUpon this last week, and it pretty much sums it up: “There really is no secret. Hard work and discipline are what you need to succeed. This applies to everything. There really is no secret—or shortcut—that will get you around this. Get to it. Now. “
Thanks for the comment Scott. I do feel that there is something to be learned from those who have been successful. But its methods and processes, not actual steps. I think it falls back to a deeper problem, though. People just want the answers, and don’t appreciate the actual learning.
Agreed! Too much time and effort is taken into “research” and trying to figure out the theoretical and philosophical perspectives of others, rather than just plain project planning and execution. I’m just as guilty of this as anybody else; and the reason behind it is that hero-worship is a crutch which people, who cannot overcome their own fears, use to live vicariously through others.
I love this post, Andrew, simply because it’s so true. You are one of the most “real” people I know and you’re very successful in what YOU do. And that’s what important.
Success is 100% relative, and it’s super easy (and frustrating) to constantly compare yourself to others. I know, I’m just as guilty of this as the next guy.
Thanks for the solid reminder man.
Exactly. I am very fortunate to have been successful, but I doubt that what I’ve done could translate to someone else with the same results. Same goes for what others have done. I am not Seth Godin, so why try to do what he does?
Me likey. Though I still appreciate you sending me that copy of Crush It 🙂
Hahaha not to worry. I had a hard drive crash last week that basically ate two days straight. I’ll be mailed today.