How to Make Your Mark Without Being Best, First, or Fearless

Ever worry that you’re late to the game? That because it’s already been done, or been done better than you think you can do it, you’re out of the running? This is the myth of originality — and it could be keeping you from championing your best ideas. Find out why you don’t have to be any different to do something great.

Do you believe you have to be special to produce something worthwhile? Unless you got there first, did it the best, made the most money or the biggest impression?

It’s almost too easy to point at legendary personalities and assume they were born different, that they are true originals and the rest of us are just copies of “regular” people. We hold up people like Steve Jobs, Serena Williams, Elon Musk as different from us, as a separate class of person. We assume that unless the world knows you by one name (Beyonce, Oprah, Taylor, Cher), you’re condemned to be an unremarkable clone.

But do you have to be a household name to be an original? Do you have to be the biggest name in your niche? Not at all. The problem with assuming we must be born different or better, or have done something different 20 years ago is that it makes us want to quit before we start. This deprives the world of the value you still could contribute.

So many of us don’t even come close to tapping our true potential until way, way into adulthood. I feel like my life didn’t even really begin until after 40! And what’s more — when we recalibrate our idea of ‘original,’ we may be more likely not just to entertain new and better ideas, but to actually act on them.

Let’s take a minute to debunk some of the biggest myths about originality — and discover what we do, and don’t need, to do something great.

5 Myths About Originality That Are Keeping You Stuck

Here’s what we think about people who are original — and why we’re wrong about it.

MYTH #1: They introduce a completely new idea.

It’s easy to assume “everything’s been done before,” so why bother?

Actually, you don’t have to be the very first person to do a thing to have your work matter.

“Nothing is completely original, in the sense that all of our ideas are influenced by what we learn from the world around us,” writes Adam Grant in Originals. “We are constantly borrowing thoughts.”

Instead, Grant defines originality as “introducing and advancing an idea that’s relatively unusual within a particular domain, and that has the potential to improve it.”

Think: Uber for children’s toys. Or, Velcro! That guy had to be annoyed with the burrs stuck on his clothes to devise something that would revolutionize how we attach things.

Read: Why skill, not talent, is the key to purposeful work.

MYTH #2: They’re radical risk takers.

You might also assume that an original — whether they’re an artist, a writer, an entrepreneur, a scientist, a performer — must be a big risk taker. The riskiest!

Nope. When Grant took a look at the research around successful entrepreneurs, he found that there was a clear advantage to those who hedged their bets: “Entrepreneurs who kept their day jobs had 33 percent lower odds of failure than those who quit.”

He goes so far as to say that entrepreneurs (a word which means the one who assumes a risk) are MORE risk averse than the average person, and aren’t made of some magical unicorn starstuff.

“People who move the world forward with original ideas are rarely paragons of conviction and commitment,” Grant writes. In other words, they may look badass, but they also struggle with fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

MYTH #3: They don’t care what people think.

Think you’re too sensitive or too much of a people pleaser to champion an original idea? Imagine you must be a steel-skinned individual with ice in your veins to achieve? So not true!

In fact, one of the most surprising bits I learned from Grant is that those two have less to do with each other than I thought.

Grant cites a comprehensive analysis of 60 studies, and more than 15,000 entrepreneurs, which found that those who cared less about pleasing others were not more likely to become entrepreneurs—or even have more successful businesses!

And that’s not just in the business sector: “The greatest presidents were those who challenged the status quo…But these behaviors were completely unrelated to whether they cared deeply about public approval.”

Apparently, Lincoln was a serious people pleaser. He agonized over his decision to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But, I mean, he did it.

“Originality is not a fixed trait,” Grant writes. “It is a free choice.”

The point: You can choose to champion original and yes, risky ideas that make a difference to people, while also caring what people think. And there are ways to cope with criticism of your work without losing your vision.

MYTH #4: They get there first.

Do you know how many TEDx talks there were about passion before I gave mine? LOTS.

I didn’t pick a topic based on what no one had ever done; I picked one that I had an opinion about, and used my own story to bring it to life. There was no need for me to be the “only” passion talk out there. And it obviously didn’t hurt me: Today, that talk has more than 8 million views.

Ever thought, If only I’d been one of the first ones on Instagram, I’d be a bazillionaire right now! And then lambaste yourself for all the other things you didn’t do fast or early enough? This kind of thinking is utterly useless, because it views your whole life as a series of missed opportunities. That feels lousy.

Grant also addresses timing in terms of risk: “It turns out that you should be wary of being the first mover, because it’s often riskier to act early than late,” he writes. 

“Unexpectedly, some of the greatest creative achievements and change initiatives in history have their roots in procrastination, and the tendency to delay and postpone can help entrepreneurs build companies that last, leaders guide transformation efforts, and innovators maintain their originality.”

So yes, pragmatism, patience, and procrastination play a role. Don’t count yourself out just because you didn’t think of it first. You know the saying: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time? Right now.

(Discover how, and why, to procrastinate more — plus six other counterintuitive productivity habits.)

MYTH #5: They did it better.

Worse than someone getting there first is the idea that someone did it better.

You think, well, they created this thing, and they already are successful or known or whatever, and so what would be the point of doing it yourself?

The idea of “better” means that everything is weighed on a single, linear scale. It’s not. There isn’t ever “one” of anything. And no one—no one—appeals to everyone.

The originality isn’t just the idea; it’s the package and manner in which it is delivered.

There’s a reason Mel Robbins is so screamingly popular—and it’s not because she invented the idea of taking action. But when the message is delivered in a Mel-shaped package, it lands for people in ways that other people’s messages didn’t.

Everything you’ve done and lived through has informed your point of view. That means anything you do will bear your fingerprint; it will be you-shaped.

What you contribute doesn’t have to be “better” than someone else’s (if there even is such a thing). It just has to be yours.

How to Encourage Your Own Originality

Now we know what things you don’t have to do or be. So what can we do to encourage our own originality? You can’t go wrong with these.

Don’t settle for default.

Would you believe it if I said that people who use Safari or Internet Explorer are more likely to quit their jobs than those who use Firefox and Chrome? That sounds crazy, right?

Grant cites Michael Housman’s research in which he took a close look at why certain customer service agents stayed in their jobs longer than others. And one quirky factor surfaced: Employees who used Firefox and Chrome tended to stick around.

Of course, it’s not the browser itself that gets the credit. It’s HOW they got it. Internet Explorer and Safari are default programs. If you want Firefox or Chrome, you have to take that extra step of downloading it.

Those who accepted the default settings on their browser were also likely to accept things as they were (the job, the script they were given), and do nothing about it. But not the others.

“The employees who took the initiative to change their browsers to Firefox or Chrome approached their jobs differently,” writes Grant. “They look for novel ways of selling to customers and addressing their concerns.” And if they didn’t like how things were, they fixed it.

We live in a world of default settings, says Grant. So it’s worth asking: Where are we accepting what we’re given, instead of seeing what else is possible?

Get curious.

In order to have an original idea that may change something in your life or others, you must be willing to ask a question.

Grant says we need vuja de, which is the opposite of deja vu. Deja vu happens when we experience something new but swear we’ve done it before. Vuja de is looking at something you have seen a gazillion times and seeing it in a totally new way.

I always think of the invention of Post-Its — which really began with a failed adhesive, because obviously, it’s not super strong. But then it became a question of: OK, when might we want a temporary adhesive? Turns out, we really, really need it. A lot of it.

Question ambition.

In Western culture, we worship and applaud ambition: It implies strength, focus, resourcefulness. It means you’re scrappy and brave and that no one can deter you!

But it’s worth asking, what is the measure of achievement? What do we want to be? Whom do we want to be recognized by?

We all want our work to mean something, to be of value to others. But an addiction to achievement itself can get in the way. After all, if we care more about being recognized and approved of, we may be tempted to conform rather than risk being original.

Grant says that being really good at something doesn’t make you stand out. Case in point: Child prodigies. If you’re blowing people away on the violin at age 6, you may seem to be an original, but in fact child prodigies are taught the opposite: Stay focused, follow the rules.

It’s worth asking where or how a desire to achieve (insert your goal here!) either supports or fights with your desire to be creative. Which “ambition” feels like the thing that matters most or would bring you the most joy?

Take one step.

While originality starts with generating an idea, Grant says, that’s not where it ends. “Originals are people who take the initiative to make their visions a reality.”

Meaning: Yes, it requires creative disruption—but true originality is not solely based on the value of a single idea; it’s what you do with it. The idea you do nothing with changes no one, including you.

That means you have nothing to lose by giving yourself a chance to share it, not because it’s “guaranteed” to be a success or widely heralded or accepted, but because you invested in yourself, took a risk — and you have no idea where it could take you, or someone else.

…Want a safe place to explore your ideas — without judgment or criticism? Check out my New Rules Studio. These live, face-to-face, weekly, virtual sessions use writing, in a safe, critic-free container, as a tool for transforming how you see yourself, your ability, your value, and your future. Discover the power of the page to bring your work to life.