Prefer to listen instead of watch? Check out the podcast player below…
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/scott-oldford-show/how-to-fail-forward” ]
To view this video on Youtube, click here (remember to Like + Comment )
To access future videos before everyone else, SUBSCRIBE to the Youtube Channel now
———————————-
This may sound strange, but you’ll often find your greatest advantage from within your biggest disadvantage.
As people, we always compare ourselves to others. You beat yourself up over what you don’t have, instead of enjoying what you do. You obsess over your weaknesses and magnify them, instead of focussing on your strengths and amplifying them.
So long as you do this, you’ll hold yourself back.
The fact is you are not good at everything, but that shouldn’t detract from what you are good at. We all have our shortcomings, and growing up I had more than most:
- I was not smart
- I had dyslexia
- I had short and long term memory deficits
- I was colour blind
- I couldn’t read until I was around eleven-years-old (I learned to code before I could read)
On short, I had a lot of learning disabilities. School, for me, was tough; a disaster.
And if I tried to turn these weaknesses into strengths, I would be miserable today. I am not an academic. I never was and I never will be. But these weaknesses helped me hone in on what I am good at, which has lead me to the person I am today.
I run the successful businesses I do, not because of what I’m not good at, but because of what I am.
I built my unfair advantage out of my disadvantage, and you can too.
If you are good at everything you are amazing at nothing
Like me, you have your flaws. There are things you are weak at, and you more than likely believe they hold you back. They don’t, but these weaknesses do have the power to amplify what you are good at:
- You’re an introvert? Great, you excel at one-to-one and intimate events.
- You’re bad with numbers? Great, hire a COO so you can focus on strategy.
- You had a bad upbringing? Great, get on stage and use your stories to inspire others.
You are a human being who is not perfect. If you were good at everything, you would never be amazing at anything. And it isn’t those who are average at a lot of things that change the world.
Those who change the world are the people who master ‘something’.
It pains me when I meet entrepreneurs who are really good at one or two things, but instead choose to focus on the many things they aren’t good at. They tell me about how they wish they were ‘this’ or ‘that’, instead of embracing the fact they’re fantastic at just a few key pieces.
Chances are you do the same, and if you do, you need to stop!
Don’t try and turn your weakness into a strength
The most successful entrepreneurs I know suck at most things in life. They have many flaws, but they let go of these and instead focus on what they’re good at — rather than trying to turn their weaknesses into a strength.
If you love basketball but you’re short, no amount of wishing will make you tall.
If you want to become good, you need to find an alternative route; one you can master. You can’t be tall, but you can use your smaller size and speed to your advantage, bringing something unique to the table. Anything but is a waste of your time, so instead of magnifying your weakness and trying to to make it better, instead amplify your strengths and become a master.
These strengths are what give you your unfair advantage, not your weakness.
But it’s your weakness that help you see what your ‘best stuff’ is, and from there you can let go and focus on (only) what you need to.
How to find your unfair advantage… TODAY!
I have many flaws, and many of them hold me back in business. It isn’t a problem. If anything it’s an opportunity, and one I’m grateful to have.
I’m great at creating a vision, communicating this with other people, and nurturing meaningful and lasting relationships. This is what people know me as, and this is my unfair advantage.
Whereas I am not a good operator.
I could obsess over this and take a course, or I could hire an amazing COO to do it for me. I chose the latter, and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made.
I chose to focus on my strengths instead of worry about my weaknesses, and I encourage you to do the same because that’s where your unfair advantage lies.
If you want to find yours, take a few minutes and answer the following questions:
- What three things are you terrible at?
- What three things do you hate to do?
- What three things keep you up at night, or create anxiety?
These are your weaknesses. Instead of defining yourself on them, figure out a way to outsource, delegate or eliminate them. From there, hone in on your strengths and amplify these so you can change the world.
Once you do, you’ll scale you and your business to the next level. This is how successful entrepreneurs operate, and this is how you progress from 6-7 figures. If you want to dive deeper and learn how, you may like to check out this guide I’ve created for you.