Hero with a Unique Power

When I read Seth Godin’s “Linchpin”, there’s a sentence where I remembered vividly. He described it by using Superheroes from the Justice League scenario. “As a beginning of most of these comics was a scene where a stranger would meet the team. Inevitably, the heroes would introduce themselves. Of cause, Batman and Superman wouldn’t need any introduction, but the lesser (lower rent) heroes had to speak up. I’m Wasp, I have the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters, fly by means of insectoid wings and fire energy blasts.” And he described that some people might call this the “Unique Selling Proposition” where you meet someone, you need to have a super power to stand out in the clutter.

I always like to describe people as a product or brand in the society. The way we dressed, the way we talk, and the way we communicate with each other. Whenever we leave the scenario or room, and that’s how people perceived us as a first impression of ourselves. That’s how people remember you or talk about you. And the worst scenario, you don’t want people to say something bad behind your back like, “The guy is good looking, but the way he acts is very self-centered and eccentric.”

As an artist. As an entrepreneur, or empirical marketer. Every one of us needed to have a unique ability to stand out in the crowd, just like the superheroes. They need a unique super power in order for them to contribute to the team. But during this abundance connection era, everyone can be able to talk with others by social media and get the answer from Wikipedia, forum and many other places for them to communicate on the Internet. Having a depth of knowledge is no longer a special ability in this society. Having academic degree is very pervasive and no longer a privilege anymore. Because the Internet knows more than we do.

The world is evolving too fast, technology is changing the way we live in the world. Humans are no longer talk and communicate to each other like we used to be anymore. We relied too much on the machine and technology even we became one of the machines too. 45 percent of American jobs are at high risk of being taken by computers within the next two decades. In China, Foxconn, the Chinese electronics manufacturer that builds iPhone, made news in 2013, they intended to replace one million workers with the robot over the next few years due to the high demand of smartphone in the market. In 2013 December, Amazon announced that sometime in the next five years, drones will be delivering the packages for Amazon.

As a human being, what we left inside of us is not only a tool to make a living in the society. We are human, emotional is a part of us and is also a privilege to be a human. We need to act like human, not machine. Confront your boss if you doubted the business plan, talk to your investor if you have a bigger vision for your business, correct your boss they’re wrong when they did a mistake. We are not a machine. We do not follow the rules and manual. We are human, we have humanity, honesty, integrity, compassion, purpose. So, bring that gift to work, not just the company, not just your boss, but you. Your life, your choice.