BREAK FREE FROM COMPETITION (Equalizer)

“Stop becoming vanilla. There is magic in showing up with your uniqueness. Because as you stop hiding, you give others the power and permission to liberate their truest identity.” - Simon Severino

When I was a kid in Italy, I played soccer. One time, our head coach Professore Piero said to me…

“Vai Simone! Tira sta palla! Fai sto gol.”

He would push me to score, and I would freeze.

I was afraid of moving.

I was afraid of attacking.

I was afraid of winning.

All I think was to flee or hide because fear is crippling inside of me.

Images of what-ifs keep flashing through my mind.

And those same thoughts stopped me from doing what I have to do to win the game.

The same thing happens to a lot of entrepreneurs when building their business.

We try to stand out and be incomparable to our competitors because our business will die a natural death if we don't.

That's true for a lot of businesses.

In fact, only 50 percent of businesses make it past the first five years, and one-third make it past the 10-year mark.

There are a lot of reasons why businesses fail. Yet, one of the most common reasons is failing to be different from competitors.

Most of the time, businesses fail to differentiate themselves from the crowd because of fear.

But the truth is... 

Our deepest fear is not failing.

Our deepest fear is that we are impactful beyond measure.

Our deepest fear is that our wildest dreams come true. And when it does, we don't know what really happens. We become clueless, unaware, and confused.

What happens when your wildest dream comes true? And how does it feel?

On the contrary, the better question we need to ask ourselves is this.

What is your wildest dream?

Most people don't know their wildest, ultimate dream. They don't even write it.

And once they know what that is, they feel fear towards it. They felt anxious about the outcome.

It's the fear of the unknown. 

Most of us don't know that as soon as you face something new and uncomfortable, fear disappears.

The outcome is not as bad as we think it is. In fact, most of the time, it's quite the opposite.

When we face our fears, everything becomes easy, simple, and fun.

When you are in a social situation and feel you're different, and you don't fit in… don't worry. That's totally fine.

That is what makes you unique!

That is your superpower!

You might not like it.

Yet, this is your MAIN asset -- your primary strategic advantage.

Nobody else has the same characteristics; it's uniquely yours. And if you embrace it, you will win.

If you stand out from your competition, you have the power:

• To influence others by being who you are,
• To operate from a foundation based on your definition of genuine purpose; and
• To work from a position of confidence in relation to the impact you can make in people's lives.

If you let others define your work, your business becomes vanilla. It becomes like every other else's work.

Your uniqueness -- gone.

It's because you let others sway you on what they think is unique for them. If you let others dictate you as to what they feel will make you stand out, then you're stuck in the rabbit hole of sameness and mediocrity.

So if you want to create something remarkable and relevant, then you have to inoculate against the wishes of the outside world.

You have to protect your genius.

You have to stop hiding behind what’s culturally expected. Because most of the time,  the society’s accepted way of doing things may not be helpful for you to stand out from the competition. 

They just do what is expected and copy behavior from others. Now, everybody is doing the same which turned out to be “the industry.”

But the thing is...

The industry is something somebody came up with. So this means, you can come up with better things and ideas which go against what’s usual for others.

Just because others do it, doesn’t mean it’s set in stone.

Be different.

You have to show the world the real YOU.

Were you ever invited to a pitch where you have to compare your work with three other people's work?

Why did you go there?

There is only ONE you, so there's nothing to compare.

Are you vanilla?

One fine afternoon, my two boys were playing wrestling.

They're playful, blissful, joyful, limitless.

And then I came in:

"Alessandro, don't run so fast."

"Please, don't shout too loud."

"Be careful. You might get hurt."

And while I was doing it, I realized.

This is how I try to make them vanilla.

This is how society tries to make people vanilla because we want everybody to be the same.

When we are in the same spot for an extended period, we are in our comfort zone. We don't feel the need to look within ourselves and seek to change anything.

We could keep doing what we're doing, without questioning if we are doing the right things the right way.

We can keep in our default position.

So we try to influence others to become vanilla, and it usually starts at a young age.

But the thing is…

This is not good for us as a society. We don't need more vanilla people.

We have enough of them.

We need more individuals with unique superpowers.

They're superhumans who zag when everybody zigs.

We need to solve problems like climate change, sustainability, and how to build an open society. These are unique challenges which require unique solutions that come from the perspective of exceptional people.

So stop hiding, show them, and share your uniqueness with everyone. 

That's the only way you'll stand out and get noticed.

We need your superpowers to solve significant challenges. Excuses hinder most people from moving past the struggles.

Every day I hear excuses like:

"I know remote working is more effective, but in my "industry," this is how things are done."

So we take something like "the industry." And we use it to hide behind it.

But there is no such thing as "the industry."

In the 1980's industries, many have lost their clear boundaries.

In which industry is Apple?

In which industry is Siemens?

In which industry is Tesla?

This kind of excuse stops you from winning.

We want to see you win. Because the win is mutually benefiting not only to you, as the business owner, but the community as a whole.

The Powerful Tool To Break Free From Your Competition

Now, if you're 100% ready to win, I want to share with you a powerful tool. 

This tool is what I referred to as "The Equalizer."

It will help you break free from competition and make you become incomparable.

This is how you can maximize "The Equalizer" and coach yourself to stand out as a winner:

Step 1. List down eight things that your clients are buying from you.

When clients come to you to buy your offer, they’re not buying the product or service itself. 

They’re buying more than that.

They’re buying the ultimate benefit of using that certain product or service. 

For example, you’re selling IT consultancy services. They’re not just buying your service because of the service per see. They’re buying your service because of any of the following:

• Reliable data
• Fast execution
•  A more aligned team

And those are the benefits of why they buy your offer. 

Based on your business, list down 8 benefits your clients are really buying from you. It’s the benefits behind the product or service that you’re selling to them.

Step 2. Assess each benefit based on your current situation and compare it against your competitors.

Once you have the 8 benefits listed down, you have to rate your business based on your current status. 10 if it’s your strongest benefit while 1 if it’s your weakest benefit.

For example, if one of the benefits is speed, you will identify what’s your business’ status when it comes to this benefit. If your business majorly focuses on speed, then rate it 10. If you think you’re weak when it comes to speed, put 1. 

The idea is to gauge your current business standing based on the benefits that make clients buy from you. 

Then once you’re done with your business, pick a competitor and rate their business based on the same set of benefits. 

For example, let’s say your competitor is Competitor ABC. When it comes to speed, their current rate is 5 because you think that it is their weak points in their business. 

Go through the list and rate your competitors based on what you think is their strong and weak points. 

Step 3. Implement your "zag."

So, when they zig, you zag.

Find your uniqueness, a different edge.

Now, you have to think differently. 

Answer this question.

"What different edge can you bring in to help your clients with your superpower?"

It has to be something that your competitor is not offering or never thought of offering yet.

If they go for more precision, you go for more emotion.

Step 4. Once you've come up with your eight benefits, you need to group them into three buckets.

In the first bucket, put your weakest benefits. Then in the second bucket, put your ‘okay’ benefits. Then in the third bucket, put your winning benefits.

Those things in the first bucket: Stop doing them. Stop spending money and people on it. 

Those in the second bucket: Reduce. Do less of it.

Those in the last bucket: Put in all the time, people and money you saved on the first and second buckets. And put them all in the third bucket. 

That's The Equalizer. 

Stop becoming vanilla.

You are someone special because there's something unique and different about you that no one else has.

There is magic in showing up with your uniqueness. Because as you stop hiding, you give others power.

And that's liberating.

As we liberate ourselves, we give others permission to liberate as well.

And this is what we need.

Break free from vanilla. Stand out, stop hiding and show the world the real, authentic YOU.

Keep rolling!