“At the end, either you’re different … or you’re cheap”. This quote of the expert in computer science, marketing and writer Guy Kawasaki contains one of the most important keys to achieve success, not only in business, but also in our personal lives. In the business world, either you are different (and you are recognized as different) or you have no choice but to compete for price, which always means “low price”. However, it is very common that we do not apply this differentiation in the appropriate direction, and this can have a significantly different result than expected.
keys to success
Claves para el éxito
From our childhood we are subjected (and submit) to a constant comparison with those we consider better. We are encouraged to behave better because this or that person stands out for their good behavior, to study more because we have to overcome the schoolmates who obtain the best qualifications, and when we reach our professional life, the reference are the competitors in the market that obtain the highest sales ratios, the best stock market valuation or the best references in specialized publications. However, with this methodology of differentiation we lose focus on the essential; ourselves.
It is important to clarify that everything said above is not wrong, since improving is always good, and trying to be better and approaching the best is always commendable. What I want to emphasize is that the true reference on which we must focus in order to differentiate ourselves must be ourselves and look inwards before looking outside. We must reflect deeply to know ourselves and discover our true strengths, those things that we are able to do extraordinarily well, surely better than the average, and that this is the true engine of change and improvement.
Starting from our interior and improving individually, we will be better people, and only then can we be more competent and obtain better results in our relationship with others, both personally and professionally. If we always keep the focus outside of us, the result may not be adequate, since we cannot be who we are not, and we will probably try to develop on weak points, which will not allow us to reach the proposed goals and may lead us to feel frustration, obtaining a result absolutely contrary to what we aimed to.