In high school, almost everyone is focused on being just like everyone else. If you suggest being different to a teenager, he’ll attack you like a cornered animal.
But after high school, it’s like someone flips a switch, and everyone spends the rest of their lives trying to be different.
People start asking, over and over and over, “How can I be different?” “How can I differentiate myself?”
Differentiating yourself is actually extremely easy. All you have to do is do what others don’t.
When an idea occurs to you, don’t first ask things like, “Is this a good idea?” or, “Will this help me?” or, “What will my boss think?”
Instead, make the first question, “Does anyone else do this?” If the answer is “no,” you may be on to something.
Of course, later you’ll have to run it through some other filters, like, “Will this help us?” After all, just because everyone else isn’t jumping off the cliff doesn’t mean you should run headlong over the edge.
But when you start considering “no” a good answer to the question, “Is anyone else doing this,” you’ll realize that finding ways to differentiate yourself is one of the easiest things in the world.