Find Your Niche by Ignoring It
Look for it directly, and it will elude you for a lifetime.
“I prefer to shoot the arrow, then paint the target around it. You make the niches in which you finally reside.” — Brian Eno
You don’t find your niche.
It finds you. Like success and happiness, targeting it directly means you miss it entirely. The secret to finding your niche is to ignore it in favor of your interests.
What exactly is a niche?
Your niche is the overlap of your skills, experience, interests and the needs of others. It is unique to you and something only you can provide. Your niche is your competitive advantage in Life.
The first step: Do what interests you.
Focus on aligning new experiences with your interests. The more you enjoy what you do, the better acquainted you get with that elusive niche. And the more experiences you rack up, the more clarity comes knocking.
You MUST do things that interest you. Otherwise, burn out or neglect wilts the fruits of your labor on the vine. The world is deprived of what only you can provide.
The second step: Develop confidence in your work.
Skill deepens as you experiment with what interests you. The joy these experiments bring is the key to consistent output of increasingly valuable work. Confidence overtakes faith and exuberance. What was once tentative becomes bold, adventurous and distinctly you.
The third step: Identify what resonates with others.
Not everything you produce will meet a need. And that is okay. The things that don’t are yours and yours alone. But some things will. The key to making a living doing what you love lies in knowing the difference.
What resonates with others will not be difficult to discern. The nature of engagement changes from mere reactions to rich, meaningful dialog. Quiet days turn into frenzied ones full of frantic attempts to keep up with the response.
Your niche doesn’t just find you. It is a tidal wave that threatens to consume you. There is no mistaking it. But if you go looking for it directly, it will elude you for a lifetime.
Follow your interests.
There is no better place to start.
🤔 Food for Thought:
How long have you been looking for your niche?
Has it eluded you as the electron did Heisenberg?
Have you tried simply following your interests?
⚙️ One Small Step:
What is one thing you enjoy doing? Consciously make more time for it. The joy you feel experimenting with this thing is the source of your motivation and the key to consistent effort. Share its fruits with others and engage.