The Desert of Arizona
Sunny 42 Degrees
Yesterday, I was honored to appear in an article on Inc.com. The title of the article is this: The Big Payoff of Marching to the Beat of Your Own Drum. Many thanks to Srikumar Rao who wrote the article.
If you’re looking for what makes you unique as a service provider, my answer is that it’s your beating drum. Your “drum” is beating differently than anyone else. If you ignore it, your mind kicks into gear and tries to THINK its way to what makes you unique.
If you’ve ever tried that, it’s not fun. Round and round you go, trying to think your way forward.
For a long time, I didn’t realize what to do with this “drum” I had. This beat that was “different” than others. At the beginning, I was just angry. It was annoying that I didn’t fit in here or there or anywhere. So I beat the drum in anger.
No one listened.
Eventually, I was fortunate to discover the Platform. That became the instrument I used to beat my drum. Day after day, that is what I do. The drum gets heard by those for whom the music is right.
And then they come.
If you’re trying to figure out what makes you unique, how about just sitting down and starting to play? “Beat your drum” in a way that adds value to the lives of your prospective clients.
That sound will resonate and spread. And pretty soon, you’ll be attracting the folks who belong working with you. But they have to hear your drum.
The system would have us believe that being “different” will get us ostracized, marginalized or ignored. Why do you think they try so hard to train children that “different” is weird? A child who is forever scared of sticking out will grow into an adult with the very same fear.
But being “different” is the biggest catalyst for changing the world there is. It is the beginning of the end of the status quo.
All of that valuable differentiation is already in you. It’s just waiting for you to start beating your drum…