In 2020, there are now millions of examples of excellence we can model and draw from as we begin, build on, or scale our own businesses and platforms.

Each time we consume content, we are consciously experiencing-and subconsciously studying—other people’s businesses and strategies, seeing their personal trajectory even as we put these into context against our own.

As much as this has broken down the barrier of entry for many who previously didn’t see a way for them to “make it,” it’s also stifled our own ability to create from the inside out, rather than the outside in.

The Social Media boom has given us the opportunity to be ourselves and be in control of our own destiny—yet, we still “try other people” on for size as we determine what model works best for us.

This leaves us in a prison of our own creation—shackled by our business, brand, or persona that we created. Like fish in an aquarium, we become stuck; stifled in our growth by the very thing that once gave us life.

So if all we have to do is be exactly who we are, why does it feel like there’s so much resistance, confusion, or pain around the thing we create?