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Why being the “Next…” will not get you where you want to be.
In the new world of entrepreneurs, where everyone believes that they can’t be truly successful unless they become the next Microsoft, Gymshark or Marques Brownlee. In a world where we have to watch Bill Gates morning routine on YouTube so that we can try and emulate it so that it will lead us on the path to his success. This concept of wanting to always be the “next” something is a headspace that I have deep reservations about. It’s a view that at its core can have great motivational and aspirational qualities however I fear that this framing of being the “next” is eroding peoples ability to be themselves and to innovate in their own way.
“It is important to foster individuality for only the individual can produce the new ideas.” (Albert Einstein)
When Bill Gates and Paul Allen began Microsoft in 1975 they were not setting their sights on being the “next” Microsoft. Of course not, they had set their sights on being the people who would create computing software that would benefit them and to also innovate the early personal computing space.
Even though IBM was already an established powerhouse in the space, Gates and Allen…
