Why You Need to Be One Step Ahead of Your Competition

I’m going to tell you one secret to success: be one step ahead of your competition. That means you need to be willing to work harder than everyone else. That means you should be thinking smarter than everyone else. It means that you must be more disciplined and determined than everyone else.

Being one step ahead of everyone else gives you a competitive advantage. You’re the first to try out things, whether it’s a new piece of technology or a new strategy. You’re courageous enough to try it, learn from what worked and didn’t work, and move on from there.

Being ahead also gives you a time advantage because you have more time to do your task well, or if you mess up, you have more time to recover. In the competitive world, having more time is a competitive advantage over having less.

In my career, being one step ahead of my competition has taken many forms. I have learned new technology earlier and faster than others, so when other people are still learning how to use it, I have already mastered it. Many times with major projects, I have finished earlier than others, so I can go back and refine anything that needs to be fine-tuned. Starting earlier and being focused on my projects has made me more productive than my competitors.

In any competition, being one or more steps ahead of your opponents is an advantage. If you put in more effort than your competition, you’ll be ahead. If you’re willing to do what everyone else isn’t, that’s your competitive edge. If you put in more time (and use that time wisely), then you’ll have the advantage over the competition. Like I discussed earlier, if you have more time than everyone else, they’re at a disadvantage. If you work smarter than your opponents, then your strategy will be ahead of the rest.

Not only will being ahead of your competition gives you an advantage, it propels you closer towards success.

Roderick Conwi writes about personal and professional development at Nourishment Notes. He is also the author of The Procrastinator's Quick Guide To Getting It Done. To get powerful insights to enhance your day, join his FREE newsletter.