“What problem are you solving?” is a very common question after pitching a funder. And rightfully so because as the Serial Entrepreneur, Peter Diamandis, said: “The best way to become a billionaire is to solve a billion-person problem.” The challenge is most people set out to implement an idea because it worked for someone else, and not out of frustration. Most fail. However, a few do indeed attain success once the idea evolves to mirror their strengths. This group grasps the philosophy that sometimes leaning into your competitive advantage is more powerful than the idea.
I will never forget when a student deduced that we needed a new leadership skills instructor, and approached me after his orientation session. Within a few minutes, we shook hands, and the deal was sealed. However, before walking away, he made a rather candid statement:
“Sowing is matching your skill to an opportunity that is the will of God. Suffering is matching your skill to an opportunity that is not the will of God.”
What he saw was a glaring opportunity, and he understood that this was a clear path to fulfilling God’s will- and also getting compensated for it! Society has programmed most of us to believe that coming up with a great idea automatically leads to success. However, the secret to maximizing our odds of success is to choose the right field of competition. You see, so many of us are working in environments or pursuing seemingly breakthrough ideas that take so much out of us, and yet we keep beating ourselves up each day.
Fam, a rule of thumb is that the work that hurts you less than it hurts others is the work you are most likely built to pursue. It’s also natural to believe you do not have the appropriate skills, and lose hope even before the journey starts. However, competitive advantages are not only about your skills but also about what you’ve been born and blessed with. And the moment you grasp that your genes do not determine your destiny but define your areas of opportunity, you learn to approach opportunities with full authority.
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This message was originally shared on instagram here.