Many of us have been taught to believe competition is a good thing. Competition builds character and strength. Competition insures the survival of the fittest, the strongest, the smartest, the richest, and the most worthy. If you’re not competitive, you’ll lose. This is a corrosive belief.

Get rid of the idea of competition.
Competition is based on the debilitating premise that you must win and some body else must lose. Competition is the basis of all human misery and division. Competition draws a line between the have and have-nots, the good from the bad, the desired from the undesirable. As an entrepreneur your mission is to create, not compete for what is already created.

Your success, and all that comes with it, does not mean you take something away from another. You do not win by driving hard bargains, selling at the cheapest price, paying employees or suppliers less than they deserve.  Success secured on the competitive plane is never truly satisfactory, fulfilling, or permanent. It may be yours today, but it will be another’s tomorrow. Your success in business and life has nothing whatsoever to do with your capabilities as a strong competitor.

You are a creator– your mission is to create, not compete. Your higher faculties of perception, reason, will, memory, intuition and imagination are the tools you employ to create value for others, not compete with others. To be a creator, you have to get your head around a fundamental counter-intuitive principal:

There is an infinite supply.

There is no shortage of supply. Everything needed is always available; it’s just not always in a visibly formed state. Ideas come from infinite supply. There’s no shortage of ideas. Everything that ever was, is now, or ever will be, is at first a seed. Ideas are formless thought seeds. Just because ideas lack physical form, does not make them less useful or powerful. Infinite supply is everywhere and in everything–including you and your ideas!

As an entrepreneur, you create ideas from the infinite supply that increase life itself.  Your idea seeds, when planted into the ground of your business, spring into activity (all by themselves) and like life itself, produce more seeds (think results). Your ideas, by living in your business, multiply themselves becoming more. Every fact you learn, leads to more learning. Your knowledge is continually increasing. Every talent you possess cultivates more talent in yourself and others. Your business operates on the very principle of all life. Your business, seeking its fuller expression, is compelled to know more, do more and be more. The same energy that compels your desire for business success makes the planet live and grow.

When you understand and believe in the principal of infinite supply, you’ll know there is no lack or limitation that requires you to compete for business.

Opportunity is always available everywhere right now.  Remember you drop out of the higher creative plane to the lower competitive plane the very second you think you have it all cornered, or a competitor beat you to it. Never put your focus on the “visible “ supply. Keep your thoughts focused only on your formless ideas and visions for growth. No one else, by controlling the visible supply, can prevent you from creating more value in the world.

As a creative entrepreneur, you don’t seek the success that is possessed by another. Equally so, your success can’t prevent another from becoming successful.

You can learn more about how this principal can work in your business by downloading the free report The White Hot Center Guide to Building a Competition Proof Business. Simply enter your name and email in the subscription form at the top of the the opposite column.

In the idea economy, the value entrepreneurs provide lies not in their physical products or services, but in intangible assets such as their brand, reputation, network and intellectual property. These assets form the white hot center of competitive advantage.

I have been doing some thinking lately about the difference between pursuing a successful life, or a life of significance. On the surface you might think these are one and the same. Can you experience one and not the other? Are these two attributes mutually exclusive, or do they indeed go hand in hand?

Much of what we may define as success is subjective, and largely based on the core beliefs about life and our reaction to it that are contained in our head–notably our sub-conscious minds. Everyone desires to create a successful life. I don’t think anyone with a healthy mind spends much time consciously saying, “My goal is to be a complete failure in life”.  At least I have not yet met anyone with that point of view.  I think you would basically agree with the general statement: we all want to create success in our life. This begs the bigger question –what is success and will it really bring you happiness?

The Successful Life

In our western culture, most people believe that you are successful when you achieve something. The common self-help industry definition suggests you are successful when you are pursuing the achievement of goals that result in financial success, personal power and authority, mastery of knowledge, material possessions and outward status in your community. While there is nothing bad or wrong with these pursuits, in of themselves, these ideals will rarely lead anyone to experience sustained happiness. I know many successful, accomplished people who are just plain miserable, and I’ll bet you do too. You may achieve the symbols of outer success, but they will not provide you with happiness. Like John Lennon says “money can’t buy me love”.

The Significant Life

On the other hand, living a life of significance has its basis in an entirely different set of principles. The formula here is dramatically different than the pursuit of success. When you are pursuing significance, you engage your life in the accomplishment of ideas that deeply matter to you and contribute to the well-being and advancement of others. Your focus is on attributes like, generosity, kindness, love, relationships, value creation and connectedness. A person who is engaged in the pursuit of a Significant Life is always thinking “win/win”, not “I win”. They live their days on the creative plane not the competitive one. The equation here is simple:

Meaning + Contribution = Significant Happiness

To experience significant happiness you must discover what really matters to you in life, and have what matters to you contribute to the advancement of others. Only then can you expect to experience a more sustained satidfaction, joy, freedom and abundance. When you get this formula working in your life, the world will shower you with appreciation. Which usually takes its form in the abundance of health, well-being, loving relationships, and last but not least–lots of money! These things are the applause the world bestows upon you for lighting the way for others.

My suggestion is put your focus and attention on the pursuit of significance rather than success. You’ll be so happy that you did.

I was watching some tropical fish in an aquarium the other day. I was sitting there, just watching them swim around bumping into the glass, peaking through the surface of the water, completely unaware of what they were swimming in.  Then I thought fish don’t even know they’re wet. That gave me an idea…

Much like fish, most people don’t know what they’re swimming in. People have little or no awareness to the truth of the stuff that makes up the physical reality we all swim in.  Like fish, we don’t know we’re wet.

We swim in a vast sea of thinking goo. All around us, yet unseen, is the stuff of possibility. In our rush to handle the urgency of our existence, we fail to see, and act on what is really important to us– what really matters. I would like to suggest if you are not involved with ideas and plans that really matter to you, then you are wasting valuable time. There is no better time than right now!  What you are doing right now is creating your future! Make sure it is in line with your passion, your greatest expression of all your unique gifts and talents. As you live in your days, you make your future. You have the power to make your life exactly as you desire. There is nothing in the outside world that can effect your future. Only you can do that. For the good, or not. The choice is always yours to make.

You can elevate your life by conscious endeavor, simply because you swim (live) in a thinking substance (potential manifestation) that is always favorable to your desires, infinite and abundant. The more you become aware of your creative nature and act on it, the more powerful you become and the richer your life experience will be.

With our economy still uncertain, now is the perfect time to think about a brand new you. Or more to the point–a new brand: YOU! That’s right–you are a brand!

Marketers spend billions of dollars each year managing the perception of their brands in the hearts and minds of their customers. In good times and bad, marketers strive to harness the power of perception to influence behaviors and turn prospects into customers. Brands connect with us on deep emotional levels. The sum total of a customer‘s perception and experiences with a product, company or service is called a brand. You can and should think of yourself, your talent, and your capability in the same way.

Like a brand, the manner in which you “face the world” represents attributes about who you are, what you do and how you do it. People around you are constantly in an emotional state of connecting (or not) to these attributes. Your spouse, family, boss, colleagues, friends, and your community at large, (we call these customers of your personal brand) are experiencing some aspect of what your brand promises them. In marketing parlance, we call this brand experience.

In these uncertain times, my suggestion is for you to take a good hard look at what your brand represents. Are you an established leading brand, an innovative up-and-coming-brand, or a me-too discount brand thrown in the slush pile at the dollar store?

A new brand YOU–is up to you.

You have an identity, a persona, a unique way of being in the world. You also have expertise, skill and talents that add value to people. To build a strong and influential brand called YOU, you need to be clear about who you are, what value you offer people, and why what you offer is important to people (customers).

Like a brand, you will represent something meaningful beyond money-making. You will have a solid value system that guides your important decisions. You will make a promise of value that people need fulfilled, and you will deliver in accordance to your values. Or, stated another way, you keep your promises. As a result, your brand will be highly trusted and valued by people who sing your praises to others in their circle.

A positive perception of your brand (you) is your biggest asset. As you grow the influence of your brand, your brand equity (the sum total of your good will) grows accordingly. There are three main components that comprise your brand. Like three legs of a stool, they must be in harmonious alignment. Let‘s look closer:

Brand Identity
This is who you are, what values you represent, your heritage, your story, what you are called, and how you represent yourself in visible form.  Think about this for a minute. What is your brand identity? What do you stand for and represent? What makes you –you? Is your identity in the world aligned with your purpose? Are you true to yourself? Your brand identity, when properly positioned in the minds of your tribe, distinguishes you from others. Your identity makes you unique and therefore special.

Brand Utility
This is what you do, your expertise and capability, your product, the thing you do to create value for people. Value creation is the foundation of a brand‘s utility. Think about how you might continuously improve your product (you) to create more value for the people in your life (customers).

Brand Promise
This is what customers (people in your life) believe their benefits are in associating with your brand. It is your unique value proposition to your customers.  Think about your brand promise. What value can you create for people? Do you over promise and under deliver?

When customers, (people in your life) think of your brand (you), naturally you want it to be uplifting and inspiring. When these three components of your brand are all in sync, you will have created a compelling, consistent and positive set of thoughts and associations in your customer‘s minds. In marketing speak; we call this “brand image”. Conversely, when these components are not in sync, the components still form themselves into a perception in people’s minds –it’s just not a positive one.

When customers (people in your life) have positive associations with your brand over time, you will have earned “brand equity“ the power within you to influence others and make bigger things happen in life that you desire. Only then will you own the influence to shift demand for your offerings toward you, because you are providing greater value for all concerned. Your brand is the foundation on which your dreams and desires in life are built. I‘ll leave you to ponder this question:

What great work truly matters to you?

When you discover the answer, build and strengthen the components of your brand‘s promise in that direction. Begin today!

I wanted to share a post from
Michael Bungay Stanier, CEO of Box of Crayons

It's a very useful insight  on the importance of finding the balance of bad, good, and great work in your life. In every area of life this dance plays out...wittingly or not. Check it out here.

The illustration above is current snap-shot as to where my scene is.  Way too much good work (think get by, pay bills, manage process) not enough great work (think passion, fire, purpose, meaning). It's about a 3:1 ratio... I want 1:1 as best as possible...

It is a great reminder that where I 'm headed, one must spend more time,money and bandwidth on great work! I love spending my day here in the grove writing the blog, working with clients I love, writing music and adding value to people's lives... that's my great work. What's yours? ...let me know in the comments section what you think. I sure hope you enjoy it.