This is Your Greatest Competitive Advantage

Ahhhh yes, the smell of fresh coffee. The sound of café playlists. The stress of trying to write this newsletter before my laptop battery dies.

Just another day in sunny San Diego.

I’m visiting a friend down here in California, and let me tell you… it’s been quite an epic trip so far.

Lots of fantastic food, lots of walks on the beach, and lots of deep work sessions at local coffee shops.

You just can’t beat it.

And to think… it all started when we met in a Discord community back in 2019. Nearly four years later and we finally met up in person.

The internet can be a pretty wild place, huh?

Anyyyywayyyy… I know you didn’t come here to hear all about my epic travel adventures and how I ran along the beach with a group of 200 others as locals cheered for us in the streets and tourists gave us looks of disgust (don’t worry, that’s a story for another time).

But you want to know the real reason that’s a story for another time? The real reason I’ll be sharing that story with you in the future?

Because it’s moments like those that are my single greatest asset.

Yes, your stories and experiences are the single greatest asset you own.

They’re your greatest competitive advantage in the digital age we’re in.

And today, you’ll be learning how you can leverage yours to build a brand worth paying attention to.

Here’s what you’ll learn today:

• Your greatest competitive advantage

• Why it works so well

• How you can use it

Alright, alright, alright, let’s dive into this one!

You Are the Competition 🤺

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Anyone can copy your writing or your designs or your ideas. But what they can’t copy are your stories and experiences.

It’s you against yourself. Simple as that.

Think about it… there are tons of brands out there. But there are even more people out there (roughly 8 billion to be exact).

Sure, we have our similarities. In fact, we all have a lot of things in common.

But one of the craziest things to think of is that no two people live the same exact day.

8 billion people. 8 billion different experiences. 8 billion different days lived. 8 billion different stories to share.

Pretty mind-boggling if you ask me.

So why am I going on and on about the human experience?

Well, because if you want to build a brand worth paying attention to, all it takes is to share your stories and experiences with others.

Here’s why your story and experiences are so important:

Why It Works So Well 🤔 

Why are people like Emma Chamberlain, Casey Neistat, and David Dobrik so famous?

All they did was vlog their lives, inject their own personality into their videos, and share their ideas with the world, right?

Is it really that simple?

Yeah… it really is (they did a lot more than just those things to get to where they are today, but you get the point).

Because here’s the thing, people will take an interest in you and your experiences. They’ll start to become invested in you and your journey if you share it over a long enough period of time.

Remember, no two people live the same day and share the same experiences.

Even as my friend and I sit at the same coffee shop, working on the same projects, drinking the same drink… we still have a completely different experience from one another.

The thing is, people relate to other people.

We want to hear other people’s experiences. We want to listen to their stories. We want to become inspired by their journeys.

Because honestly, it makes life more fun and interesting.

Imagine if we all did the same things and had the same experiences every single day. 8 billion of the same exact thing.

That would make for a pretty boring life if you ask me.

Your stories and experiences are your own competitive advantage.

They’re the thing that make life worth living. And that, my friend, is a very… very powerful thing.

Alright, so how can you use your own stories and experiences in your own life?

How to Use It 📝 

Live your life. Take a small piece of your day. And then share it.

That’s it.

Take me for example. I make a living writing emails for ecom brands. Do you know how many people do that same exact thing?

A lot. That’s how many.

So why would someone work with me over any other email marketer? Why would someone listen to your ideas over any other creator? Why would someone hire you over any other job candidate?

Because you have your own unique stories and experiences that you can (and should) leverage in your every day life.

There are tons of ghostwriters on Twitter these days. And most of them have the same exact offer. So how would I choose which one to work with?

Well, other than maybe their past results, I would choose the one who I like best as a person.

The one who tells epic stories on the timeline. The one who shares their life adventures. The one who I could talk to and feel like I was talking to a friend, not just someone trying to sell me another expensive service.

So whether or not you’re trying to build a brand or just become a more interesting person at parties (hey, we all want to be that guy)…

Go out there and get real life experience. Then share it with the world.

I think you’ll be amazed at what it’ll do for you.

As I always like to think:

In order to write about life, you must first live it.

Alright, that’s all for today. Now I’m off to enjoy sunny SoCal. Hope ya have a fantastic weekend.

Cheers,

Connor “you are your competition” Flynn

This Week’s Hits 🤙🏼

We all know that stories sell. But few people know how to tell their own story to build a brand. Here are seven different stories you can tell to grow your business and turn fans into customers:

Hollywood makes billions from telling stories. One of my favorite Twitter creators right now is Parker Worth, and he broke down the exact story structure 99% of Hollywood movies use to get you to watch. Read the full thread here:

P.S. Whenever you're ready, here's how I can help you out:

Schedule a free 30-minute brand strategy call with me to identify and help solve the biggest issue your brand is facing right now.

Now here's how you can help me out:

• Share this newsletter with someone who could benefit from it!

• Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter for more valuable content on marketing, branding, and storytelling.

• If you're new here and want to use powerful marketing and storytelling to grow your brand, sign up for the Better Stories newsletter below: