Alex is a Co-founder of Morning Brew, one of the most popular business newsletters and is host of the "Founder's Journal" which is one of the top professional growth podcasts.
He has also invested in many companies and has 150k+ followers on Linkedin.
Guest Author: Alex Lieberman
Every entrepreneur has an achilles heel. Mine is the desire to be original.
I care so much about doing something new & innovative, which makes my life sooo much harder. But I’m not alone. Tons of entrepreneurs & creatives suffer from “The Originality Disease.” (h/t @david_perell)
So why is it that I seek originality? Ego. It’s that simple. Creating new shit feels good. And it feels good because I subconsciously associate originality with deep respect from the world.
As someone who fears not being valued, I’m drawn towards things that increase my odds of being liked. But here’s the funny part. If I look back at my one big career win—@morningbrew—there’s really nothing original about it. Business news has existed since the 1700s.
Email has been around since the 1970s. And that’s exactly why it worked. Our real genius was copying in an original way.
Business news & email had been around, but they had never been combined in a way that felt right for our audience. It gets even better.
My desire for originality absolutely stems from wanting to emulate “visionary entrepreneurs.” Steve Jobs. Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos.
But all of these people have openly copied & stood on the shoulders of giants throughout their careers.
So what does all of this mean for you & me?
Don’t try to be original for the sake of being original. And don’t even try to copy for the sake of copying.
The great irony of deciding whether to focus on imitation or innovation is that neither should actually be the focus of the entrepreneur.
The only focus should be on finding the truth & building the product that leads to the best outcome for your customer. Everything else is simply a byproduct.
