Stop Emulating Outliers

These are not the patterns you're looking for.

We focus a lot on the outliers of our society.

We study Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg.

We search for the patterns among Netflix, Disney, and Apple.

The only trouble is that these are all outliers. If you look at the total number of companies, these “unicorns” make up only a small fraction of a fraction of a percentage.

They’re special because they’re unique. What’s unique about them is that there was a confluence of events that happened that led them to their circumstance.

Yes, there was hard work, but there was also opportunity, leverage, and timing. It’s impossible to replicate these conditions—and that’s the point.

Instead of studying only outliers, it’s more practical to study success stories that are feasible, approachable, and accessible. It’s more practical to study success stories that are more replicable.

Stop looking at outliers and comparing your situation to them. It’s not a fair comparison.

Start looking at stories, projects, and people who are experiencing success under conditions that are similar to yours.

Find the biggest car dealership owner in your town and study their growth strategy. Find the old friend from college who lived in your dorm and learn about their path after school. Find someone in your field who didn’t hit their stride until late in life.

Instead of looking for outliers that are impossible to replicate, look for case studies that are approachable.

I’m not saying there are a zillion of them out there that will map cleanly to your own trajectory, I’m just saying that searching for one-in-a-million is a crappy strategy.