Whats your unfair advantage
First, we have to come to the realization that life is unfair; people are dealt different cards, and some are born with more resources at their disposal from the get-go. This includes different genetics, like physical health and mental brain structures, financial, or even location.
Advantages can be put into two categories.
Category one is the fair advantage; an example would be getting up at 5 am and getting one hour of free time to work on your business or self. Mostly everyone in the world can get up earlier; that is a fair advantage.
Category two would be your parents invested 1 million dollars into your first business or paid for your education and helped you get into a prestigious university. This is something not everyone can do or has access to, making this an unfair advantage.
So the next step is to find out what unfair advantages you have at your disposal. What are you inherently good at, or what comes easy to you? What do you enjoy doing that others consider work? And what resources do you have at your disposal? This could be your living environment or location, your family ties, or the information you have access to. You might have a family or friends who have connections to a certain field or business.
The hard part is finding out what your unfair advantage is when you don't have a lot of resources. If you have no money, no easy way to get an education, or time to work on your business endeavors, what can you do? What advantage do I have that no one else has or struggles to achieve?
We start with these 5 pillars and can go from there.
Money,
Intelligence and insight
Location and luck
Education and expertise
Status
Which ones do you have, and which ones can you access? For myself, I have education, expertise, insight, and I'd like to think intelligence, but the conundrum is if you think you're clever or smart, then you probably aren't. So I have two of the 5 pillars as an advantage. Now after reviewing those pillars, you might find that you have your one or more pillars that you have an advantage over; it's time to hunker down and use them until that resource is all gone or regenerates.
But if you don't have anything in these categories, which is possible, then you might have something that many people take for granted. You might have a strong mindset where you live might be remote or challenging but unique to the world (though boring to everyone who lives there). You might have a passion for something that gives you a drive that feels like play to do. Or you might have, at the very least, street smarts. Only you can find out your unfair advantage, but it takes time and honesty with yourself and driving deep.
My only concern with this unfair advantage is that what if you have all these advantages, but none of them align with what you're passionate about? You might live in a location that is stunning and remote, but you want to interview people in the city. Or you have a passion for sports but aren't able to attend events due to some physical restrictions. Then you're in luck because you have already found one pillar: passion.
It's once we have an open mind and take a step back that we can see other possibilities. Sure, I can't become a sky instructor because I live in the hot countryside in the middle of nowhere. But I can still write about skiing, talk about skiing, learn about skiing, interview athletes about skiing, do commentary on a skiing event, and, if lucky, take a holiday to a skiable location once a year or two. If you're passionate, you can find a way.
The thing I'm trying to get at is your limits nowadays are only in your head. Having an open mindset is freeing; you can see endless options and possibilities. Having a closed mindset leaves you where you already are. Having all the pillars is useless if you don't act, if you don't use them. So the most important pillar of them all is drive, motivation, determination, passion. So ask yourself, what are your unfair advantages?
