October 3, 2010
“don’t be the best in the world at what you do; be the only one in the world who does what you do.”
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[Last Friday I was signing prints– 175 of these puppies. SAP, the large, German enterprise tech company put in a very large order, to give out to certain key people within the organization. Trying to have a Smarter Conversation. Exactly.]
“Don’t be the best in the world at what you do; be the only one in the world who does what you do.”
That quote is me paraphrasing Jerry Garcia, lead guitar of The Grateful Dead. The thought always resonated with me.
If people like what you’re doing, and you’re the only one who’s doing it, you win.
Which is why I like doing Cube Grenades. Compared to what most people are selling out there, they’re fairly unique.
It’s also what makes blogs so powerful a marketing device. People can just see your own unique shtick evolving right there on the page, over time. They’ll either get it eventually or they won’t. No sales pitch needed. No need to compare yourself to somebody else. No need to fit into some pre-existing model, if you don’t want to.
It has never been a better time to be unlike anyone else. I hope you’re already taking full advantage…
[UPDATE:] Oops! Andy in the comments corrected me: “The paraphrased quote needs to be correctly attributed. Rock promoter Bill Graham said of the Grateful Dead said of the Grateful Dead, “They’re not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do.” So there ya go. Peace Out.
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Tags: Cube Grenades, Hugh MacLeod, Jerry Garcia, SAP, smarter conversation
I´ts velar to judge we individual evolved so in so small abstraction when compared to else abstraction frames. Terminal 10 years rattling were definitive when it comes to study and gadgets
*CAUTION
The above quote may change your life
thanks hugh!
Great stuff Hugh, who would’ve thunk when we were sitting bullshitting in the Blue Parrot that one day I would wander the corridors of a German Software House, and see your bought and paid for by serious suits art on the walls, as shipped from Texas.
great concept
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I think Garcia and the Dead were massively overhyped. I mean, what exactly did they “innovate”? Giving free acid to people? I like their music but it’s not original. “Original” means Bowie, Talking Heads, Doors, Syd Barrett, etc.
Having said that, the fanfares of jugboobs that pertly line the corridors of power will wilt and shrivel and drop off and die when the Cosmic Eye of Raygun Cunt hits them with its death beam. So ignore everything I’ve said.
I dunno, Ian, The Dead aren’t my favorite band, either, however they were uniquely quirky.
Quirky and successful is a great combo. It’s what I’ve always aspired to be
[…] Don’t be the best in the world at what you do, be the only one in the world who does what you do. Great cartoon and advice from Gaping Void […]
i truly like your work.
The paraphrased quote needs to be correctly attributed. Rock promoter Bill Graham said of the Grateful Dead said of the Grateful Dead, “They’re not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do.”
Garcia was not the source of the sentiment
[…] In the era of hypercompetition, when competition is ubiquitous (and an Israeli high school student is probably building a comparison shopping iPhone app for your industry this weekend), there is no way to compete on price. The only way to survive is to be distinctive. That means, in the words of Jerry Garcia, being “the only ones who do what you do.” […]
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