3 Tips for Being Unique

I find this post from Robert Chen fascinating:

According to scientists, we’re 99% the same, genetically.

Yes, the same.

Not similar, not close, not related. Exactly the same. And that’s actually a good thing.

Here’s why:

Imagine a world where we were all very different. What would it be like? Well …

Pharmaceutical companies would have to invent a different drug to cure the same disease for every person in the world. No one would read Stepcase Lifehack or any other personal development and productivity blog because useful tips about being successful for one person won’t work for someone else. Research institutes would collapse overnight. What would our children look like?

You get the point.

But take a look around you. What do you see? Do you see how similar we are or do you see our differences?

We’ve been trained and wired to notice the 1% that makes us different and this is the same 1% that separates ordinary people from extraordinary people. Those who showcase their 1% are the ones who become great.

Think of every remarkable person you know. Were they unique or just like the rest of us?

Despite advantages to being similar, professional and personal success does not come from being generic. You have to be yourself.” How? Get the answer here: William Zinsser’s 3 Tips for Being Unique.