Top two reasons why being the first isn't always best

We live in a world that loves firsts. The first man to climb Everest. The first women to run for President. The first kid to never miss a day of school. With all the news about firsts, there is little wonder why many people come under the impression that they have to be first to get attention. Here are the top two reasons why this is not the case.



The first downside of being the first is very few people will take you serious. This becomes every more important when your first is difficult or dangerous. Take climbing the 50 state high points for example. I have had a hard enough time convincing sponsors I am going to make it even though over 200 people already have done these climbs. It would have been crazy difficult to get sponsors otherwise.



Second, it is a whole bunch easier to learn from what they others have done than to make every mistake yourself. The old saying "don't reinvent the wheel" has a lot of value to it. It is too easy to get bogged down trying to figure out how to do some insignificant part of your goal when you should be moving on. Copy what you can, and do the small things different to make the idea your own.