You Don't Start as an Original

Originality is what's left after imitation, friction, and failure.

Early in my career, I tried as hard as I could to sound like people I admired: business owners, marketers, writers, and some salespeople I was convinced had it all figured out. I’d listen (and model) how they framed ideas, told stories, even how they carried themselves, and then I’d try to do the same thing.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t go well.

Not because those people weren’t great - they were. But that was the problem. They were great being them and, by comparison, I was turning into a low-rent, discounted version of someone else.

When that begins to happen, you can feel the internal friction. You’re saying the words that you’ve heard others say, but they don’t feel natural to you, and they don’t resonate like you thought they would with others. It’s like wearing a suit that technically fits, but it’s a style you’d never choose for yourself. For a long time, I thought this meant I just wasn’t as good as the people I admired. Over time, however, I realized that I wasn’t bad; I just wasn’t “them.”

No one starts off as an original. We start off by copying others - the ones who are ahead of where we are, have attained the success we crave, and the ones who are comfortable in their own skin. So, we borrow language, duplicate structure, mimic delivery, and kidnap ideas. As we try those things, we inevitably fail, at least a little.

However, that failure to be what we admire is the point. The gap between who you’re trying to be and who you truly are is where originality shows up.

Over time, a few things start to happen:

• You keep what feels natural

• You discard what doesn’t

• You adjust, refine, and repeat

Over time, you’ll find the blend becomes yours, not theirs, and your authentic voice emerges.

I see this in all aspects of business, especially in the branded merchandise space. Distributors copy websites, pilfer language, and adopt the same positioning, so all end-users see a parade of similar “branded merch solutions” and “partners in promo.” It sounds fine, but it all sounds exactly the same. This happens when originality is forced without grappling with friction, failure, and understanding what doesn’t fit.

Originality isn’t a decision as much as it is a destination. It’s built through exposure, intimidation, admiration, failure, realization, and iteration. When trying to find your unique voice, stop trying to be original. Instead, find the people who are truly great, study them, try to be like them, and pay very close attention to where it breaks for you. At that point, you realize you’re truly at the beginning of something that’s uniquely and 100% you.