What to do when your idea has been done before

Shawn Today

I received an email from a reader recently. In it he stated that one of his biggest challenges related to doing his best creative work is the fear that “it’s already been done before”.

When you’ve got an idea for something, do you find yourself asking: “Hasn’t SUCH-AND-SUCH been done already?”

If so, here’s the answer: Yes.

Yes, it’s been done before.

So what?

Here’s why it doesn’t matter:

1. You have a unique perspective and story.

2. Who knows what the strategy, work ethic, and long-game plan is for your competition. If they go out of business next week, you’ll still be here.

3. There is not a one size fits all approach — and the way that you solve a problem may resonate better than the way someone else does.

4. Examples of things that had been done before: Fast food burger restaurants, cars, house floorpans, touchscreen smart phones, running shoes, fiction books, productivity books, coffee…

Everything I’ve done in my career, I know of other people and other websites that had done it.

I didn’t do anything that was completely original. I took an idea that resonated with me, and I put my own spin onto it.

If I let the fact that this already exists hold me back then I’m discounting my own offering, I’m assuming the other person has already done it perfectly (they haven’t), and I’m also robbing my own audience.

Did you know that people who buy productivity courses and books are far more likely to buy another one (and another, and another)? It’s not a zero-sum game.

For The Focus Course, what I wanted to set it apart was the design. The website design was my competitive advantage. And also, I was building it directly for my audience. I wasn’t building it for the whole world — I was building it for just a few thousand people.

Show Links

• Focus Course Launch Week Case Study
• You can download the Finding Creative Focus Worksheet on that case study page
• Focus Club

---

Download here. (18:49)