Everyone has had a time in their life where they’ve needed something. Remember Sea Monkeys? I couldn’t understand why my mom wouldn’t buy them for me along with the spinning wheel for the little guys to swim through. To my surprise, Sea Monkeys were actually brine shrimp. To my devastation, my mom never got them for me.

Mind Your Pennies.

I wanted these sea creatures because they were apparently awesome and supposedly everyone had them. Advertising is really something. It can sway our opinion to feel we need an item, even if it’s only because someone else has it. But it’s crucial to be realistic about your own decisions and expectations, particularly when you’re making decisions about your career or company. Can you literally afford to make a decision based on what someone else is doing?

Make Moves.

Do you think some of the most successful people in the world copied others’ decisions to get where they are today? “If I’d had some set idea of a finish line, don’t you think I would have crossed it years ago?” –Bill Gates. Being original will lead to the purest form of success.

If no one can see how you’re different from anyone else in the game, you’re not giving them a reason to choose you over your competitor. We see many of our clients make huge monetary decisions based on what their competitor is doing. While mimicking might be in your favor at times, our job is to create inventive strategies for our clients to help them stand out. I don’t care how cutting edge an industry is, there is always room to raise the bar simply by remaining individual. People under pressure tend to forget how awesome they can actually be.

Get it.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but why waste the time when you could be the one striving to become the best? Thinking outside of the box can feel daunting, but it can also prove to be your best personal challenge to work efficiently, realistically and strategically in every way. Anyone willing to step outside of that box will hit road blocks but once you feel the beginnings of success your motivation will only grow from there. Whether you have the need for success or not is a whole other Sea Monkey animal.