One of my favorite quotes is a seeming paradox:

Become who you are!

(Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

Why must we become who we already are? If we are already unique, individuated, unrepeatable selves, what is there to become? Of course, as Oscar Wilde observed:

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

Too many people are busy trying to be like other people. In their work and their lives overall, they merely look side to side and copy, when they could be looking within and ahead and forging a path all their own. When they could be asking questions, thinking critically, paying attention to intuition, trying to put it all together in their own words and frameworks, they just go along and get along.

This mimicry also represents one of the greatest economic inefficiencies of our time—countless identical competitors offering undifferentiated services while vast territories of human need remain unexplored.

Of course, as humans, we are social beings. We have deep needs for connection, love, and belonging. There would be severe consequences if we were to be isolated from our tribes. However, as humans, we are also simultaneously individual beings. We have our own distinct bodies, minds, stories, life experiences, ideas, and inner worlds. Paradoxically enough, often the best way we can contribute to society is to bring our best, full, unique selves to make a difference. (Note that the important phrase is “making a difference,” not “making a sameness”).

Like small acorns containing great life force - just add sun, soil, and water - we must not merely imitate the maples or the elms, but contribute to the forest as the grand oaks we are to be.

Becoming a category of one

As far as I’m concerned, the ultimate goal of entrepreneurship (and life overall) is becoming a Category of One—creating a brand that blends a unique intersection of skills, characteristics, and values such that you are indisputably the best at what you do because you are the only one to do what you do. It is certainly how to succeed as a luxury business1.

This transcends mere differentiation. Where traditional competitive strategy focuses on beating others at their game, with Category of One thinking, you create your own game with your own rules such that you face no direct competition.

Excellence remains the foundation—you must produce real results that make a difference. However, excellence alone is insufficient. You must also revel in your creativity and uniqueness, leaning into becoming that which only you can be.

Mathematics of uniqueness

A Category of One operates on multiplication, not addition:

Unique Value = Core Skill × Complementary Skills × Personal Characteristics × Authentic Perspective

For example, Leonardo da Vinci's intersection of art, science, engineering, personal observation, and philosophy created this multiplicative effect, which is why he remains incomparable centuries later.

In today’s global market made possible by the World Wide Web, you can profit from a highly specialized, targeted niche. Kevin Kelly has argued2 it takes just 1000 true fans, and today3 the internet has 5.5 billion users. You can pick a small, growing market and push yourself to the frontier edges. Too many people just chase a trend, and if you’re just chasing, you’re already behind. However, as a Category of One, you are a trendsetting leader – you are unusual, distinctive, memorable, and the only choice for those seeking what you can do.

As a Category of One, you get to stand on a pinnacle of your own making and choose which horizon to pursue next.

The ethics of authenticity

Category of One thinking rests on a moral foundation: if you possess a unique intersection of capabilities that could solve problems no one else can solve, then failing to develop that uniqueness represents a kind of moral negligence—withholding potential benefit from a world that needs what only you can provide.

Consider Marie Curie4, who faced immense pressure to conform to conventional feminine roles. Her persistence in developing her unique scientific capabilities didn't merely advance her personal ambitions—it fundamentally expanded human knowledge. Her Category of One positioning as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win in two different sciences, emerged from refusing to accept limitations on her authentic expression.

Your uniqueness creates multiple ethical opportunities to assume responsibility:

  • Responsibility for Self: developing your unique potential rather than settling for imitation.

  • Responsibility for Others: contributing what only you can contribute to human flourishing.

  • Responsibility for the Future: creating value that expands possibilities for those who will follow.

Breaking the conformity trap

Too many entrepreneurs never achieve Category of One positioning because they succumb to common psychological barriers rooted in our human evolutionary programming for tribal acceptance.

The result is "competitive convergence"—entire industries where competitors offer virtually identical services at identical prices, competing solely on execution rather than distinctive value. Consider countless "digital marketing consultants" whose websites, services, and language are indistinguishable.

Breaking free requires what is often called "the courage to be"—a willingness to face the anxiety that comes with authentic self-expression and the risk of social rejection.

The imposter syndrome paradox

Those with the most unique value often struggle most with imposter syndrome5, because truly distinctive individuals have fewer obvious comparison points for validation. The more unique your combination of capabilities, the fewer people exist who can fully understand what you bring.

When Benjamin Franklin combined scientific experimentation with civic leadership and diplomacy, no obvious role models existed. His category emerged from trusting his unique intersection despite lacking external validation.

The solution isn't seeking validation through imitation, but developing internal validation based on authentic value created for those you serve

Strategic category creation

Creating a viable Category of One in business requires strategic thinking about positioning your authenticity to serve genuine market needs.

The intersection strategy

The most powerful categories emerge at intersections of multiple fields. While you might face competition in any single domain, combining three or four areas creates territory only you occupy.

Naval Ravikant exemplifies this perfectly. Angel investing, philosophy, technology, and Eastern wisdom are each crowded fields. Combined into a coherent worldview and expressed through podcasts and writing, they create a category no one else occupies.

Problem-solution reframing

Category creators don't just solve existing problems better—they reframe problems entirely, revealing needs that markets didn't know they had. This requires a novel perspective that emerges from an authentic individual viewpoint rather than from industry consensus.

For example, Coco Chanel6 didn't design better corsets—she reframed what feminine fashion could be. Her category emerged from applying personal values of simplicity and liberation to an industry obsessed with ornate constraint.

The economics of authentic positioning

Category positioning creates economic advantages impossible through traditional competition, generating "increasing returns" (rather than the diminishing returns that characterize commodity markets).

Monopolistic advantage

True categories occupy monopolistic positions—not through exploitative pricing, but by the ability to set prices based on the value created rather than on competitive undercutting. When you're the only provider of a particular set of capabilities and traits, clients choose based on fit rather than price comparison.

Warren Buffett's positioning has created community effects that amplify his influence far beyond traditional marketing, enabling premium pricing based on unique value rather than market rates.

Network effects

Authentic positioning creates natural network effects. Clients who resonate with your approach become advocates who then attract similar clients. This creates self-reinforcing cycles where market position strengthens over time rather than eroding through competition.

The AI-era opportunity

As artificial intelligence replicates more human tasks, authentic human uniqueness becomes increasingly valuable. AI can optimize and analyze, but cannot replicate lived experience, moral judgment, or the creative synthesis emerging from an individual consciousness.

What remains uniquely human

Lived Experience: Your particular combination of challenges and insights cannot be programmed or repeated.

Emotional Intelligence: While AI recognizes patterns, it cannot feel or intuitively understand human experience and thus cannot fully embody a deep connection.

Moral Judgment: Values-based decision making that emerges from personal experience remains uniquely human.

Creative Synthesis: Combining disparate ideas into novel solutions (especially those insights that come from experience) requires consciousness beyond artificial replication.

In an AI-saturated world, clients will pay premiums for real human wisdom and experience-based insights. The entrepreneurs who thrive will double down on becoming more deeply human, not competing with machines at machine-like tasks.

A new vision of ambition

Too many people believe “ambition” is just about chasing titles and status, about “keeping up with the Joneses” and impressing other people. This vision of ambition, I believe, is not ambitious enough. It completely misses out on what is most valuable and meaningful in the human experience.

I believe ambition means having a vision of not only what is good but what is great for the world - it is about pursuing a mission (if not multiple intertwined missions) and continuously growing and improving yourself in order to realize that vision and mission. Ambition results in making an outstanding contribution to the world through honing your unique potential.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s unique intersection of oratory, philosophy, strategy, and moral authority didn't just serve his advancement—it served humanity's need for justice. His Category of One positioning created value far beyond individual success.

The implementation imperative

Understanding these principles intellectually is insufficient. To successfully implement becoming a Category of One requires the systematic development of your capabilities, perspectives, and positioning to generate authentic differentiation.

Foundation: excellence plus authenticity

Every Category of One ought to be built on genuine excellence. Authenticity without competence can’t produce real-world results, but competence without authenticity is just a commodity. What’s needed is the integration of an authentic perspective with excellent execution – this creates the foundation for viable Category of One development.

Develop world-class skills in areas that align with your natural talents and interests while you cultivate the self-awareness and courage needed for authentic expression. Be excellent at what you're uniquely suited to do, not what you think you should do.

Development: strategic intersection

Once excellence is established, strategically cultivate complementary capabilities that multiply the value you can bring to the world. Identify capabilities that naturally connect to your strengths and passions while addressing underserved market needs.

Expression: market education

Creating an economically successful Category of One requires teaching markets to recognize and value what you uniquely provide. This goes beyond traditional marketing to become market education—helping clients understand problems they didn't know they had and solutions they didn't know were possible.

Each interaction becomes an opportunity to illustrate why your particular intersection creates irreplaceable value.

The courage to become

Achieving Category of One positioning requires "the courage to become"— a willingness to develop and express your authentic uniqueness despite pressures to conform, imitate, or “play it safe.”

This manifests as:

  • The courage to disappoint: understanding that appealing to everyone ensures you're essential to no one.

  • The courage to charge a premium: recognizing that underpricing trains markets to undervalue what you provide.

  • The courage to be selective: choosing client fit and long-term relationships over short-term revenue.

  • The courage to evolve: continuously developing your thinking, skills, and capabilities.

  • The courage to teach: sharing approaches generously, trusting that execution cannot be easily replicated.

Beyond personal success

The ultimate vision for Category of One creation extends beyond individual success to cultural transformation. When more entrepreneurs commit to authentic uniqueness rather than imitative competition, entire industries evolve toward greater value creation and human flourishing.

Imagine markets where most, if not all, entrepreneurs compete on distinctive value rather than price, where innovation emerges from thoughtful perspectives rather than trend-following, where clients receive unique solutions tailored to their individualized desires and needs rather than commoditized services.

The call to authenticity

The market needs what only you can provide. Your unique intersection of experience, capability, and insight can create value no one else can create, solve problems no one else can solve, and serve people in ways no one else can serve them.

The question isn't whether you have something unique to offer—you do. The question is whether you'll have the courage to develop it, the strategy to position it, and the persistence to express it until the world recognizes and values what only you provide.

The world needs more Categories of One. It needs more people courageous enough to become uniquely themselves in the service of others. It needs you to stop imitating and start becoming.

Be ambitious enough to become who you are.

“Belong. But also be the only one who believes what you believe and does the thing you do.” - K. Joia Houheneka, “Paradoxical Luxury

Notes

1 Elevate Your Brand To Luxury – Exploring The 4 Steps To Become A Luxury Entrepreneur on Brainz.
1 1,000 True Fans on The Technium.
3 Digital Around the World on DATAREPORTAL.
4 Marie Curie on The Nobel Prize.
5 Imposter Syndrome on Psychology Today.
6 All About Coco Chanel’s Greatest Innovations, From Chanel No.5 to the Little Black Dress on WWD.