We live in a morally diverse world where someone is just as likely to try to steal an idea as they are to help protect one. The idea behind being a ‘copycat’ or coming across as unoriginal is something most of us will fear when striving to achieve greatness. However, you would be daft to think you are going to completely reinvent the wheel and create the next Apple or PayPal. You may get lucky and come across something which could bring an entirely new value to the marketplace, but knowing how to action this monster only decreases your chance of doing this. The best course of action we have when building a business, starting a new venture or just striving for better is to study and try to emulate those who have delivered their own success within your niche.
Before 1954, no one had ever run a mile in under 4 minutes. It was deemed impossible. Then a guy called Roger Bannister came along and ran it in 3.59 minutes. But here is the key thing we must all take on board; since that time over 20,000 people have done it, including teenagers. So what changed? What happened when they got on the track? They knew it had been done, and because they knew it had been done it gave them a new view and vision on what was ahead of them. When we know that someone else has done something, it means that we can do it too. And we can.
Emulation is simply paramount if you want to get ahead, as without other visionaries and innovators around us leading the way, it would be a treacherous path to the top. The system you build for yourself has to be born out of individuality, but taking the key characteristics and features from others that you need to contract and install them into your own hard drive.
