“It’s human to want more,” Paul Jarvis wrote in one of his latest email newsletters about setting goals.
“A lot of successful entrepreneurs want to convince you that if you aren’t aiming to dominate markets, crush it, and put every competitor out of business, you’re letting your apparent lack of self confidence get the best of you.”
But I’ve been questioning this idea for some time. While I do experience a very human desire to compete, I sometimes manage to stop myself and wonder why.
Oftentimes, it’s because of an irrational sense of fear.
As a writer, I have lots of friends who in the traditional sense, may be considered competitors. But if I take a moment to see it from a different angle, they become potential collaborators instead.
One of the many things I’ve learned from working at the bar is that there’s space for differentiation, that we have to trust in our own abilities, and that there’s so much space to work together to elevate the industry as a whole.
“Commerce is collaborative, not a zero sum game for me.”
— Paul Jarvis
For the last couple of months, I’ve been exploring ways to collaborate with others and I’ve come to realise that collaboration works best for those who are individually strong.
It works for those who are confident enough in their own abilities to know what they’re bringing to the table.
