Awhile back I shared my theory behind rivalries. It’s pretty simple, you pick a person in the industry to your “nemesis” and you try your damnedest to overtake them. Not in a mean-spirited way, not to destroy them, but to elevate to their level and hopefully surpass them.
It’s pretty simple, you pick a person in the industry to your “nemesis” and you try your damnedest to overtake them. Not in a mean-spirited way, not to destroy them, but to elevate to their level and hopefully surpass them. Pick your rival well, though. You don’t want to pick someone on the same level as you or someone that’s below you. That’s like challenging a 4-year old to a race and being proud of yourself for winning. You also don’t want to pick someone who’s a star in our industry. Challenging Monte Cook isn’t going to help your self-esteem while he’s breaking records and you’re still building your fan base. It should be someone slightly ahead of you, but not by a ton. This way, when you do surpass them, you can pick your next target and keep on moving.
I had one nemesis a long time ago (not naming names, since it’s not really about that). And I followed their career to see the up and downs. I’m not a stalker by any stretch of the imagination, but I pay attention to what they put out there, good or bad, and I use it as a learning experience. But eventually, I reached a point where I felt comfortable that I have surpassed this person in my mind. So for the last few years I’ve kind of floated around with a new nemesis in mind, but no idea where to start to try to surpass them… until about a month ago. There are things in the works and I have my new nemesis chosen. Now it’s just a matter of making things happen in such a way that I climb even higher. I am hopeful, as my new (and secret at this point) ventures are pretty great.
So, with that in mind, I have a renewed energy ending 2017 and going into 2018! Lots of great things in the works and I can’t wait to share them all with you!
Until next time.
Dean
Ahead full steam
Derek Kamal
Interesting!