That World No Longer Exists

During a workshop,
a new writer asked
a writing hero
how she got her start
in the business.

The writing hero
prefaced her answer
with
“It was a different time
then”
and, while she relayed
her story,
she pointed out
again and again
how her path to publication
wouldn’t work now.

The world changes quickly.

I consider
anything that happened
before the pandemic
to be a situation
that couldn’t be duplicated
right now.

And even that
might be too long
of a time frame.

Ensure the advice
you’re receiving
is still relevant today.

If you’re giving advice,
ensure it applies
to the current situation.

The world is changing.
Your advice should be
changing also.

Being Copied

Successful new businesses
are differentiated a bit
from their competitors.
That is why
customers choose them.

Successful new businesses
are also
copied.
Other people see their success
and want to be
just like them.

But these copycats
will never be
exactly like the original.

Their business builders
aren’t you and I.
They’re different people
with different outlooks on life
and different strengths
and weaknesses.

The copycat businesses will never
be known
as the first.
There is only one first
and our businesses
have that title.

Our businesses also
should be evolving
as the world around us
changes.

The copycat businesses
can’t permanently copy
our businesses.
They can only copy
our businesses
at one point of time.

If we’re worried
about being copied,
that is a sign
we’re not evolving.

Never stop improving.