My YouTube channel recently crossed 10,000 subscribers, and I’ve done this by exploiting an intersection of three of my unique strengths:

• Systems programming
• Not being camera shy
• Discipline & Consistency

I’m not world class in any of these by themselves, but the combination is a bit more rare and helps me to stand out.

I’m definitely not the best programmer in the world.

I’m also definitely not the most charismatic person in the world. But the bar is pretty low for programmers, especially in my niche of systems programming. I’m a lot less camera shy than most programmers I know.

I’m also not the most consistent person, but I’ve been able to sustain a pace of one livestream per week for about two years.

The end result is that I don’t really have competitors. 95% of the people with the technical skill set that I do have no interest in making content or putting themselves out there online. The remaining 5% either don’t quite have the skill set, or don’t quite have the consistency and burn out.

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Everyone has unfair advantages relative to the other players in the field.

• Maybe you have a natural inclination for [thing]?
• Maybe you’re young and beautiful?
• Maybe you’re experienced and wise?
• Maybe you have a lot of energy?
• Maybe you’re calm and comforting?
• Maybe you have a nice voice?
• Maybe you’re really tall or strong?
• Maybe you’re a man in a female-dominated field?
• Maybe you’re a woman in a male-dominated field?
• Maybe you’re not shy?
• Maybe you can hyper-focus so intensely?
• Maybe you find talking to people effortless?
• Maybe you have a lot of time?
• Maybe you have a lot of money?
• Maybe you’re resourceful under constraints?

Exploiting your unfair advantages is nothing to be guilty for, once you realize that everyone has them.

Doing things in the world is hard enough as it. You can choose to attempt it without exploiting your strengths, but just know you’re playing on extra hard mode.