Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
-Dale Carnegie
As a copywriter, I make my differences a place of value, because I sell from a point of originality. Without that difference, everyone else has the same program and I'm not going to make any real differences. If not original, what are we?
Quite honestly if there's another person just like me, one of us becomes obsolete.
It used to be said that opposites attract. With all the dating services online, they look for similarities and not differences.
We used to celebrate originality.
Is this survival or is this the demise of our society, of our people, and of our lives? Are we, by creating identities with no individualism, loosing our soul and spirit, giving up our purpose of existence?
As a business, your identity rests on your brand and the recognizable differences you represent. Have you considered the value of a non-conforming BRAND?
What power is there in conformity? If you’re in the military, it’s nice to know everyone is pointing their guns the same direction and what each member of your team is doing. However, if you’re in direct competition with your neighbor’s business, conformity means you’re doing the exact same thing. What competition is there?
In my hometown, I run a tax office. I prepare tax returns for small (usually home based) businesses, from my home based business. I’ve been condemned repeatedly for working from my home, but that’s what works for me. No, it isn’t ‘natural’ and I probably don’t have as much clientele as I would have on Main Street. But… my clients know that if there’s a question about a deduction, I’m not going to generically dismiss it, I’m going to review it, research the issue and figure out if it’s a legal deduction or not, rather than simply dismiss it as a gray area deduction. I charge a little more than some of the tax preparers downtown, but honestly, I provide more. And when a client comes to my door, I offer them coffee, something the offices downtown can’t do anymore because the liability is too great. I can continue to do this, because my clients are guests.
My differences make my business valuable. Without them, it would be ‘just like any other tax office’ and my clients would not make the effort to come here, because the extra effort would not be necessary.
Yes, there is power in conformity, but there’s value in difference. Would you rather have the power of being a member of the multitude or the simple value of being different?
