The world is full of leaders and followers. And that is a good thing because there are times to be one or the other. But when it comes to business and controlling your life you should always be a leader. This does not mean that you have to become some maniacal person doing everything to get out front. It means you need to have that mindset that you just do not want to be like everyone else. I have written before about the importance of not being just a cog in the system but becoming what Seth Godin refers to as a Linchpin. You can read more about this in ‘The Courage to Stand Out.’
I attended a large bridal extravaganza today, the Houston Bridal Extravaganza Show. There were loads of vendors from all areas of the wedding industry. But one of the things that I noticed was how many of them were the same, how many of them were followers. Their products were similar. Their logos were similar. Their prices were similar. For fear of being different or following a model that may fail they have become followers. The story usually goes that they see someone in their industry who is successful and they want to be like that. So they reason that they should copy the model that their competition is using, thinking that following that model will make them just like the leader, the model creator. But being a follower rarely pays off. While it seems safe, and may be somewhat effective, it always leaves you at a level below your true potential. There is nothing innately wrong with modeling yourself after someone successful. But modeling and copying are very different.
So how do you express your unique gifts if you are trying to be like someone else? In this case you loose on two fronts. You do not get to reach your full potential as an artist or business person and you do not satisfy your need to be creative, clever, and unique. Why would someone choose this? I think that it is partly fear-based, partly ignorance, and partly laziness. It is so much easier to copy a model then to create your own. And there are definitely times when this is true, but not in an endeavor where you are the product or where you are providing a service.
Few people at this bridal show stood out. The thing that made the difference in many cases was the person, not the product or service. The people who had a passion for their work and were able to make a genuine contact with me are the ones that stand out. And it just so happens that many of those people were the leaders and they were unique in their own ways. People buy from people. You have to be a human and you have to want to help people. In my wedding photography business, Red Photo, I am always pushing myself to be more of me, more unique. I want to contribute my own brand of artistic vision to the mix. Be a leader today in all aspects of your life, even when you are a follower.
Gary Miller
Houston Wedding Photographer
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[...] should not just follow the market. For more on this you should read my posts ‘Be the Leader, Not the Follower‘, ‘The Courage to Stand Out‘, and ‘Stand Out From the Crowd.’ Too [...]