Have you ever stumbled upon a great idea, worked through a strategy and then, before you know it, you discover someone else in your network is all of a sudden creating the same thing?!
A few things can happen next. You can let it:
- de-motivate you.
- get you down as you think, “Oh, there are not enough pieces of that pie for me …!”
- motivate you and get your butt in gear to climb that hill.
If you have created something and someone else wants to do the same thing, it means that it is probably a pretty darn good idea!
When you are a successful business owner there are always going to be other people who want to do the same things as you. They are going to be creating the same services, products, workshops, online offerings, etc. However, the key is to remember that they are not you!
No one is you and that’s your power
Your clients come to you because it is you! They know that you are the best in the industry and they choose to work with you. Keep your head high. Stay in your own lane.
An acquaintance of mine used the term “Mind Pirate” a few years ago and it stuck with me ever since. It refers to those people who take your ideas and try to make them their own. Every successful business owner has encountered one.
Keep your eye on the prize. Keep your focus fixed on your end goal. Stay focused on where you’re going.
The next time you start to feel disheartened by others creating similar products and services, remind yourself of the reason it is happening: you are the best of the best and others want to be like you. They see what you have and they want to have it for themselves.
Do it anyway
While competition can seem disheartening it can also keep us on our toes and help us follow through with our ideas.
Have you read Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear? In her book, Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this concept of an Idea Fairy. If you don’t act upon your idea, the Idea fairy will fly on to somebody else.
The next time something comes up in your business and you start to think, “Why are they doing that?! Why are they offering the same thing that I am offering?” I want you to remind yourself that it’s happening because you are onto something really good.
Celebrate that fact. Celebrate your success. Celebrate that others want what you have. Stay clear and focused on your goals and continue forward.
This article has been edited.
Amanda DeGrace, founder of DeGrace Energetics, has been living the dream as an entrepreneur for over 12 years now. Amanda has extensive knowledge working with both entrepreneurs, small businesses and large corporations. She has consulted multi-million dollar companies and managed teams as large as 60+ people and as small as 1-3 person teams. She helps create plans, strategies and actionable items to bring forth more clarity and increase team productivity to create success. Connect with @AmandaDeGrace on Twitter.
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