A million people are doing your thing. How to stand out?

Your "on-top-of" talent is what really counts when trying to find your unique edge.

You might be a writer, designer, artist, yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, coach, social media consultant, photographer or any combination of the above. All of these are crowded spaces (yes, even breathwork). Many people with different skillsets and years of experience are trying to build careers and businesses in these fields.

So, should you even try?

Good question.

Let’s try to find an answer by using the music industry as an example.

The music industry is a tough one. It’s hard to make a name for yourself even if you have talent. Yet, some do. Some even make a name for themselves without too much musical talent.

Think about Madonna, for example. She never had the vocal range of Whitney Houston but made a career for herself using her attitude as the leading characteristic. Controversy and the ability to reinvent herself over and over again carried Madonna through decades of success.

And if I think of any artist, I often find there are one or two things that make them stand out from others.

Try it for yourself: Name any musical artist and think of two characteristics that make this artist different from someone else.

To get you started, here are a few of mine.

Taylor Swift: girl-next-door vibes, dedication to her craft.
Florence Welch: fairy-like stage presence, rawness to her lyrics.
Beyoncé: business-savvy, an eye for the visual aspects of musical performance.

All of the above are famous and talented, well-known artists. They all know how to make music. Many of them write their own lyrics. But they’re vastly different artist brands. Unique in their own way.

But first, let’s focus on the fact that every artist plays on a few strengths.

Sometimes, strengths can be something that the artist has on top of their talent.

Take Adele, for example. If you’ve ever seen her live performances, you’ll know she’s hilarious. And this is in addition to the fact that she’s already a talented musician. But her stage presence has likely played a role in her success as a performing artist.

Understanding our “on-top-of” talent is crucial to developing a brand that others will remember and helping people choose us over our biggest competitor.

Let’s use a fictionalised example inspired by my typical clientele.

We can call her Nari. She’s an author and freelance writer. She’s also very into video games and has built a few games herself. She loves to create worlds for people to immerse themselves in. Her writing is rich in details and her readers love getting lost in the beauty of the spaces she creates.

Nari’s visual abilities could be seen as her on-top-of talent in relation to writing. If she wanted to, she could use her talent to take her writing even further. Nari could create interactive novels that invite the reader to play while reading. She could write stories that are based on the characters she plays in the games. Or, if she wanted the gaming to just be a vibe rather than a product, she could use gaming analogies and visuality on her website or books.

If Nari did some soul-searching and dug a bit deeper, she might also find that gaming serves a bigger purpose in her life. It’s a form of escapism but also a space unlimited by realism. It’s a space where Nari can be entirely free. And she would love to be able to bring this sense of freedom to others, even if it had nothing to do with books or games but maybe something much bigger. By understanding and unlocking the purpose of gaming, Nari could communicate her presence and service in a way that stands out from others and even develop new services and career paths for herself.

How to unlock your on-top-of talents

Your on-top-of talents are often something that have been with you for as long as your actual skillset or even longer than that.

When I do this type of work with my clients, it often involves meditation or free-form journaling. Something that takes them deeper than their logical minds. So, if you want to engage in this type of self-inquiry, make sure you do it in conjunction with a hobby or spiritual practice that allows you to access your subconscious mind.

Go back to your childhood, surf on the waves of your early experiences, and try to connect with moments of joy in your professional and personal life.

Use the following prompts to guide you deeper:

When you were young, what types of activities gave you heartfelt joy?
Who or what did you feel inspired by and why?
What would you do when you were bored?
If there was a place or space you could take yourself back to, what would it be and why?

Then take yourself to more recent experiences:

Name moments when you’ve felt most alive in your professional career. Why?
What hobbies or pastime activities can you completely lose yourself in?
Who do you often end up being in your relationship dynamics? Is this someone you enjoy being and if not, who’d you rather be?
If you could have a day doing something completely different from your current job(s), what would it be and why?

These questions will open up inquiries in your mind.

It may take a while for these inquiries to do their work. But with time and conversation with trusted friends, peers or professional coaches, you might start to distinguish your on-top-of talents more clearly. Because they’re part of your essence, they will reveal themselves sooner or later. You don’t have to force yourself to try to be different or fake some sort of facade of uniqueness.

Note: never do this type of work with anyone who is overly critical of you or too eager to solve a problem for you. This type of deep work needs to be handled with care and patience because our soul will only enter spaces of calm and warm-heartedness.

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If you’re trying hard to make it in a field that feels noisy and busy, take a deep breath and step back for a minute. There will be space for you if you’re in it for the right reasons. You will find your own way through the crowd and you’ll find the people who want to follow your torch.

You are different from others and always will be. You just need to develop the skill to see yourself through other people’s eyes and connect with the vision you want to bring to life the most.

And remember, the more you focus on who you are and what you’re creating, the less time you’ll spend obsessing over how someone else is doing it.