unique snowflake

fight club lied to you (sort of)

"you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake." iconic quote, useful for deflating egos, but ultimately incomplete. you're not special just for existing — true. but the specific intersection of your skills, experiences, advantages, and obsessions? that combination might actually be rare enough to build something nobody else can.

the intersection principle

individually, none of your strengths are unique. millions of people can code. millions can write. millions understand marketing. but how many can code AND write AND understand marketing AND have deep knowledge of, say, sustainable agriculture? the more specific your combination, the less competition you face.

scott adams, the creator of dilbert, talks about this as the "talent stack." you don't need to be world-class at any single thing. you need to be reasonably good at a combination of things that rarely overlap. that intersection is where your unfair advantage lives.

the exercise

grab a piece of paper and make three lists. first: your genuine strengths — things you're objectively better at than most people. second: your unfair advantages — connections, background, access, physical attributes, anything that gives you a leg up that others can't easily replicate. third: your deep curiosities — subjects you'd research at 2 AM for fun.

now look across all three lists. can you find a combination of two or three items from different lists that, together, describe something only you could do? that venn diagram center is your unique value proposition. it's the thing you could potentially do better than anyone else on the planet.

stop being generic

the world doesn't need another generalist competing in crowded fields. it needs someone with your exact combination of weird, wonderful abilities tackling problems in ways no one has thought to try. find your intersection and own it completely.

if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.