You Can't Swagger Jack Someone Else's Big Mac Secret Sauce to Success

Being talented, having clever marketing, or a million dollar idea is not enough for entrepreneurial success.

Try as you might, your home made burger will never taste like the Big Mac.

In a world filled with hustlers and dreamers, the allure of success stories captivates many. We hear tales of tech billionaires, sports icons, and social media stars achieving remarkable feats. These narratives make it tempting to think that following someone else's blueprint can fast-track our own success. However, while these stories are inspirational, blindly imitating them can often lead to disappointment and lost chances. Let's explore why forging our unique paths is essential for true achievement and fulfillment.

The Illusion of the Easy Path

When we see someone thriving in their field, it's easy to believe we can replicate their journey step by step. The reality, however, is that these triumphs often mask extensive years of effort, countless failures, and invaluable lessons learned along the way. According to a survey by the U.S. Small Business Administration, about 30% of new businesses fail within the first two years, often due to a lack of proper planning or understanding. Celebrating their successes without recognizing the struggles can create unrealistic expectations for ourselves.

Each person's journey is unique, shaped by their individual skills, experiences, and situations. For instance, I once tried to adopt a successful influencer's content strategy without considering my audience. While they grew their followers by 50% in three months, my follower count stagnated because I neglected my unique perspective. Rather than copying their methods, I learned to adapt insights that better matched my approach.

The Downside of Complacency and Swagger Jacking

Emulating the success tips of public figures may seem wise at first, yet it can lead to complacency. Relying too much on someone else's formula limits our ability to explore our own creativity and potential. This is particularly important in today’s fast-paced world where 80% of consumers report that they value authenticity in brands and individuals.

Rather than simply reproducing someone else's steps, we should view their journeys as inspiration to ignite our imagination. This could mean developing a new product or using innovative marketing strategies that reflect our values. Embracing our originality not only enhances our experiences but also helps us stand out in a crowded marketplace. The quirks and characteristics that make us unique can be cornerstones of our personal brand.

The Missing Ingredients

A key component often overlooked in the rush to mimic success is the essence of personal passion and commitment. The individuals we admire have usually invested their hearts into their pursuits, creating stories that reflect their values. For example, consider Elon Musk’s dedication to innovation. Musk's relentless drive for making electric cars popular brought Tesla from the brink of bankruptcy in 2008 to being worth over $1 trillion today. Copying the surface-level actions without the necessary dedication often leads to disillusionment when we don’t feel the same passion for our projects.

Success isn’t a cookie-cutter recipe. It’s about dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to adapt. It involves facing challenges head-on and learning from our failures. To find paths that resonate with us, we must take ownership of our stories and embrace their chaotic or unconventional aspects. Authenticity in our journeys, rather than merely mimicking someone else’s, is crucial for achieving long-lasting satisfaction.

Crafting Your Own Success Story

In our quest for success, we must remember that simply copying another's narrative won't unleash our true potential. Instead of trying to swagger jack that Big Mac secret sauce, embrace your experiences, values, and passions to create a personal recipe for achievement. The journey to success is built on authenticity, dedication, and resilience.

Reflecting on our own experiences rather than chasing after imitations will lead to deeper and more meaningful accomplishments. The most compelling stories come from those who bravely navigate their paths and celebrate their individuality. So, let's lean into our quirks and celebrate what makes us unique. Your success story is waiting for you to write it—make it yours.

3 Reality Checks to understand to achieve success.

Nonetheless, I am going to share 3 important Reality Checks that I discovered on my journey that I want to share with you to consider - if you finally decide to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams... REALITY CHECK #1 - You Can’t Swagger Jack Success Even if you could force-feed a truth potion to your business inspiration, raise Howard Hughes from the dead, or ask Chat GPT to boil down Tony Robbins' autobiography into a "Top 10 Commandments" to attain entrepreneurial success - you still can’t copy the success of others.

What worked for them, might not work for you. You may not have their skill set, education, resources, network, or innate ability to mimic their tactics. We are all of equal value, though we are certainly not all of equal ability. Maybe the timing is off. Your million-dollar idea is 20 minutes too late or 20 years too early.

Furthermore, how do you know your favorite celebrity or business guru is not just presenting you with a version of their story that omits how much help they had? Perhaps, the version they tell purposely props up their self-styled business image to carve out a persona or to cater to a niche. 

Many people born on 3rd base, downplay the advantages they enjoyed, that paved the way for their success. REALITY CHECK #2 - YOU Are Your Own Secret Sauce. You must find your own entrepreneurial path that is unique to your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, network, experiences, personality, resources, and values. Yes, everyone has different starting points, but you can't change that, so get over it. Self pity = self sabotage. The good news is you don't have to try to replicate someone else, you just need to sell yourself! Please don't mistake this point for some Elmo vacuous and banal singalong, "You are special…just because you are you...and there's no one else like you. Yay!" You are a product that has never appeared before in human history - and will never appear again. Forget the latest iPhone upgrade. You are a true “limited-time offer”! Your secret sauce can’t be copied, even by AI or your child. Pimp all the unique characteristics, experiences, talents, values, and attitudes that brought you to where you are right now in life. This is your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) - your market niche that separates you from the competition. Nobody else can do you better than you. You have cornered the market on you. Infuse "you" into your business, even if it goes against prevailing wisdom.

You won't be successful if you water yourself down to be a lukewarm facsimile of someone else's UVP or be the 13,000th aspiring self-help guru that yearns to be the next Tony Robbins - especially while we still have the original selling-out stadiums! Geniuses, who regularly do unconventional things or have unorthodox ways, are typically considered crazy at first. They are originally outcasts who don’t toe the line, who buck the status quo. That is, until they hit paydirt, then all the lemmings come and shower praise on the former lunatic they once scorned.

Innovation and invention prove there is no one way to success. Carve your path unabashedly.  REALITY CHECK #3 - God’s Blessing or Lady Luck is Out of Your Control

Boris Khodjoe has enjoyed a very successful acting career that has spanned decades. Boris Khodjoe is also super handsome and would be considered a “10” in attractiveness - even by lesbians. While attractiveness certainly opens doors due to beauty bias, there are untold millions of “10s” walking around the USA today, so he is not unique in that regard. (We are a country of 350 million and counting.) However, Boris is unique in that “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity found him - without him even looking for it.

Boris Khodjoe - Sexiest Man Alive 2022

Boris Khodjoe's Story One fateful day, Boris was walking around NYC minding his own business and a fashion agent stopped him on the street and asked him what agency represented him. Boris said he was unrepresented and the VERY NEXT DAY he was invited to shoot a prestigious and lucrative Versace campaign, which made him an instant model in demand. Aspiring fashion models can spend their ENTIRE CAREERS scouring for the plum - and unearned - opportunity that literally tapped Boris Khodjoe on the shoulder, one that changed the course of his life.

Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, most prominent celebrity autobiographies do not give a lot of shine to the prevalence of outside factors ameliorating their rise to the top. It’s certainly more ego-gratifying for a celebrity to claim an innate natural ability, exceptional work ethic, and dogged resilience. Still, one cannot dismiss the prevalence ’ prevalence and undeniable influence. Factors outside your control can be just as important as your talent, hard work, and perseverance. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.

Such important ingredients you have no control over include good timing, nepotism, wealth, connections, or luck. Believers are convinced that God's Blessing is the ultimate determining factor, as everything good comes from God.Whether you believe in God's Providence or Lady Luck, both are out of your control and influence. While that can be scary to some who stake their identity on status and success, it can be liberating for those who realize that lack of intended success - can be absolved as well.After all, if you were never destined to be an entrepreneurial success by God or if Lady Luck passes you by, you can rest easy after giving it all you got! You are released from regret!!

Conclusion

You can't be anyone else, as you weren't handed their script to play that part.

Let your “creative freak flag fly” until your entrepreneurial spirit soars free out of the recesses of your mind...and into reality. Don’t conform your visionary dreams to some arbitrary “how-to” dictates of conventional wisdom, because conventional wisdom constrains vision, it doesn’t support it.

Be you - for better or worse - as you strive for your entrepreneurial success.

It’s the only unique value proposition - aka secret sauce - you can offer the marketplace anyway!!

There's more than one recipe for success