A good friend of mine said something to me at dinner this week that really hit me: “Aim Up, Compare Down.”

So many of us drive ourselves crazy by comparing “up.” Rather than enjoying our own circumstances, we lust for the things and traits possessed by others. We crush our own spirit by comparing ourselves to those that are smarter, younger, better looking, more successful, taller, wealthier, better athletes, etc. Unfortunately, this is just a recipe for feeling like shit.

In always comparing up, we lose perspective of where we stand. Instead of appreciating what we are, we obsess about what we’re not. We fail to savor our accomplishments and natural gifts, always grasping for something more in a never-ending futile effort that depletes our confidence and sense of self.

Comparing down, in contrast, helps you realize and enjoy where you are in the moment. It helps you recognize that while there’s always room to grow on your path, you’ve already accomplished the things that only exist in the dreams of others. Sure, there’s always someone with a bigger boat, but never lose sight of those with much less.

I’m sure there are many different ways to interpret the idea of comparing down. To me, it’s not about comparing yourself to other people or being boastful. It’s about comparing “down” to a previous version of you. It’s about recognizing how far you’ve come and realizing that things could always be a lot worse.

Now comparing down isn’t an excuse to stop pushing ahead and striving. That’s where “aiming up” comes in. As far as I can tell, the purpose of life is to realize your full potential and make your biggest possible impact on the world. You won’t get there by aiming (or dreaming) small. Aiming at a target in front of you will propel you to play your best possible game. It will allow you seize the enormous opportunity that’s waiting for you.

So many of us have the formula backwards, don’t we? We aim down because we’re afraid of putting ourselves out there and failing. By playing it “safe”, we end up filled with regret for all the shots we never took. And to top it off, we compare “up.” Envy overwhelms us, starving our own sense of well-being and fulfillment. And with every step forward, we immediately seek something new and shiny to covet instead of appreciating our accomplishments in the moment.

It’s time to turn conventional thinking upside down. It’s time to embrace a fresh perspective that will push you to new heights while embracing the joy you’ve earned at each step along your path.

Forget the traditional approach. Aim Up, Compare Down.

There’s been a lot of protests recently about how awful it is to be the 99%. The central complaint is that the lion’s share of success is going to a small percentage of the population. People are upset that a select few over-achievers (the 1%) get a disproportionate share of the rewards.

No kidding. In fact, that’s how Darwin made a name for himself.

Instead of whining about whether or not the world is fair and droning on that we should all live in a state of socialist equality, why not focus your energy on being the 1%? Not an evil 1% that lives in opulence off other’s broken backs, but being in the top 1% of your field. Making the top 1% of impact on the world. Reaching the top 1% of your potential.

Everyone knows who Lance Armstrong is – he achieved top 1% status in the world of cycling. Ever hear of Heinrich Haussler? He’s ranked the #9 cyclist in the world and undoubtedly is highly talented and committed. Besides Haussler not being recognized at the grocery store, I’d guess that Lance Armstrong earns 100 times what Haussler makes. Is this fair? Should Haussler camp in a tent for weeks demanding that Armstrong give up some of his fame and wealth to the less “fortunate” Haussler?

As I see it, the top 1% have always snagged a disproportionate share of life’s rewards. In venture capital, only one out of three hundred entrepreneurs receive funding. In Hollywood, for every Tom Hanks or Jennifer Aniston, there are tens of thousands who don’t make the cut. I don’t see the reason to protest; it is simply the way life works. It’s like protesting winter in my hometown of Detroit because it isn’t fair my friends in San Diego are in the top 1% of weather.

So the real question becomes, how do you push yourself to reach that rarified territory in your own pursuits? How do you become a champion instead of an also-ran?

Most of the expert advice boils down to two things: Passion and Persistence.

The greatest achievers in the world are driven with unbridled passion. That intense desire enables them to overcome their demons, and push through the rough spots even when it’s uncomfortable. This passion drives them to sprint toward their dreams with urgency and fire, passing the wanna-be’s along the way.

Persistence, grit, and determination fuel the 1% through their inevitable adversity. In the words of Vince Lombardi, “It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up.” While the 99% are bowing out when circumstances get too tough, the 1% forge ahead, unwilling to accept defeat no matter the sacrifice.

We all have a choice. We can point fingers, complain the world isn’t fair, and swim in a pot of victim soup. Or we can push ourselves and our organizations to earn the coveted 1% position. And in doing so, we achieve nearly limitless potential.

Why accept anything less?

The ultra-premium and highly-coveted high heel designer Christian Louboutin has been racing the hearts of fashionistas for over 20 years. One of the most sought-after and expensive shoes in the world, they are a symbol of design, beauty, and luxury.

They are also incredibly distinctive.

The sole of every single Louboutin shoe is painted bright red. Pantone 187C to be exact. Every boot, pump, stiletto, and mid-height is adorned with this brilliant red color. While high-fashion designers routinely copy each other’s ideas, Louboutins have captured the hearts (and wallets) of the luxe crowd around the world because they are unique. Special. Different. Remarkable.

At up to $1800 a pair, I’m sure the quality is good and the assembly is professional. But that’s not what women buy… women buy that alluring red sole. That’s what Louboutin is known for. It’s what makes his shoes distinctive.

Volvo is known for safety. Wal-Mart is known for everyday low prices. BB King is known for making the blues pour directly from his soul into his guitar. Now I’m sure Volvo also offers great performance and BB King can play Country Western if he really wants to. But the most powerful brands in the world – both businesses and personal brands – stand for one thing: They own their category. They are truly distinctive.

What’s the one thing your company stands for? If you stand for great service, low prices, fantastic quality, speedy delivery, stylish design and being environmentally friendly… you actually stand for nothing. You customers, team, and partners won’t understand your true value proposition. By trying to be all things to everyone, you’ll end up lacking definition and delighting no one.

In today’s cutthroat world, your personal brand needs distinction too. Steven Colbert is hilarious and compelling because he is distinctive. His character mocks the droves of blowhard pundits, and we all love him for doing it relentlessly. For the last seven seasons, he stays true to his single, distinctive, authentic character, which is why he’s irresistible.

Too often, power brands reach too far and end up diluting their message rather than bolstering it. They launch products or services into categories that undermine their distinction, and end up jumping the shark rather than driving real results.

In a time when we all want to stand for so many things, choosing your single point of distinction can be more difficult than solving quadratic equations. But doing the hard work of simplifying your message into its most powerful core will end up driving incredible results. You’ll blast through the noise, while your competitors are tripping over their 47 “unique” value propositions.

Whether it’s for yourself or your organization, cut away the waste and narrow your pitch to a single sentence. Think of yourself as a sculptor chiseling away at the excess rock to reveal your masterpiece underneath. The clearer you can make your single point of distinction, the closer you’ll get to seizing your full potential. And that’ll really get your competition seeing red. Pantone 187C to be exact.

After I graduated college, I launched my second business – Innovative Computer Solutions. We sold computer hardware and provided networking and other computer-related services. After 11 months of business, I was doing well. But as Jim Collins likes to say, “Good is the enemy of great.”

In 1994 the computer world was in the midst of massive upheaval. And an introspective look in the mirror revealed a company that was on the path to mediocrity. I was making money and winning clients, but our products and services were a commodity. A me-too player. And let’s face it… the world doesn’t need another me-too player. The world doesn’t need another me-too anything.

So with less than one year of operations, I decided to sell a business that appeared to be full of success and promise. This was a hard decision, since the business was making money and growing rapidly. But I knew that it wasn’t my destiny. I knew that I needed to let go of one opportunity in order to seize a bigger one.

Letting go is never easy, especially when things are “okay.” Many people find themselves in “okay” jobs, “okay” relationships, and living “okay” lives. It takes boldness and courage to let go of the known to pursue the wonder and magic of what’s possible.

As human beings, fear often immobilizes us and keeps us grounded to the “okay.” But then we eventually look back – filled with regret that we never went for it. Never took that big risk. Never chased down our true potential. We end up playing it “safe”, only to realize that playing it safe is the riskiest move of all. Because playing it safe gets in the way of your real trajectory and robs you from reaching new heights.

We all have “to do” lists. What would be on your “letting go” list? What are the things you need to release in order to make room for the new? What are you clinging to out of habit or perceived safety that has lost its enduring value?

Sometimes, you simply need to let go. You must let your own grit and determination become your new safety net. And in the process, you’ll make room for the possibilities while liberating your spirit.

The Power of Lego to Inspire

If you didn’t play with Legos as a child you missed out. The good news is that it’s never too late. Lego – and any tactile construction-type child game like it – can help adults jump-start their creativity no matter how old or uninspired. This short moving will get you thinking about Lego and all the ways it can inspire your creative thinking: http://bit.ly/bVQLgr

The 6 Myths of Creativity

Do you need to inspire creative work in your organization? A recent study shows that the ways people usually think about creativity in organizations are not necessarily born out by the facts. Get the real scope on how to make creativity work for you here: http://bit.ly/d3xJVU

Sometimes It’s Just a Picture that Inspires

One sign of a truly creative mind is to take ordinary household items that don’t usually come under the category of inspirational and use them to create wonderful new ideas and mental landscapes. The artist here clearly thinks out of the box, the egg carton, and the bowl: http://bit.ly/cIEEZt

Helping Left-Brainers Become Creative

It’s not just the accountants and the lawyers – there are a lot of left-brain people in the workplace, and they need help becoming more creative. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to ease left-brainers into a more creative working mode. Find ten suggestions here: http://bit.ly/c0wTKS

Imagine you had the challenge of inventing a better mousetrap. Literally. A typical brainstorm session may yield incremental improvements in the spring on a mousetrap, or the bait, or the construction materials.

The whole essence of igniting your curiosity is to question and challenge everything. Why does a mousetrap need to use a spring at all? What other ways are there to catch a mouse? How could a mouse be contained in a completely different way?

The more radical you allow your curiosity to wonder, the better. “What if we pumped water into the house and filled the entire house in order to flood the mice out?” This type of breakthrough thinking is exactly what you should seek. Of course you would not actually ruin an entire house with water, but perhaps you’d invent a mousetrap that catches mice in a water-based trap. The essence is to push yourself and your team outside of normal boundaries and let your imagination run wild. You can always tame it back later as needed.

Best-selling author and professor of psychology at the University of Chicago Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi said, “Creativity generally involves crossing the boundaries of domains. The most creative among us see relationships the rest of us never notice.”

True originality has never emerged from a formula. Rules are precisely what innovators and other paradigm shifters break. And to reach these new heights of creativity, let an unbridled sense of curiosity and awareness serve as your building blocks.

The old expression, “Curiosity killed the cat” couldn’t be more useless and out of date. A more appropriate phrase in light of today’s competitive business climate would be, “A lack of curiosity killed the cat”, or, “Curiosity helped the cat catch the mouse.”

Especially with your new patent-pending, revolutionary, groundbreaking water-based mousetrap.

Overcoming your fears – 7 secrets from the ages

All of us must deal with our fears, and often they are what stand between us and greatness – or at least making the attempt. Clink on this link to see what the experts have been saying for 2,000 years are the best ways to overcome those pesky obstacles: http://bit.ly/cjuPGR

Creative Advertisements – Lots of them

Perhaps you thought creativity was dead in the advertising world? Not so – in fact, it’s working harder than ever in a media-saturated, 24/7, TiVo wielding age. Click on this link to see a wonderful array of great ads – 90 of them. Yes, 90. http://bit.ly/adfRvN

Creative People in Health Care

Media reports to the contrary, there are many people working very hard to try to fix the US’s health care mess, and a number of them have some very creative ideas about the problem – and its solution. Click on this link to re-charge your enthusiasm for fixing this very tough problem with some real heroes: http://bit.ly/9YMc4T

Creative Motorcycle design

OK, here’s your outrageous toy alert for the week. For a mere $70,000 USD, you can be the proud owner of the Mission One motorcycle. This baby is electric, and just about the sleekest looking thing on the planet. Be careful, if you click on this link, you may be calling the bank to raise your credit limit: http://bit.ly/9j5fVf

We’ve all heard people in the business world proclaim that they are “heads down” on a project. Or that they are unable to explore new opportunities since they are “heads down in execution mode.”

Consider, for a moment, the advantages of being “heads up” instead. Let’s compare the two states of being:

Heads Down
Focused on delivery
Tuning out distractions
Avoiding influence from your surroundings
Execution
Getting things done
Right now
What is
Deadlines

Heads Up
Focused on possibilities
Embracing new things
Welcoming outside influence
Curiosity and awareness
Questioning everything
The future
What could be
Imagination

There is a time and place for both approaches. When you are working to ship a new product out the door, you better hope your team is in full “heads down” mode. The problem is that so much of the business world is in the heads-down state of mind, that it becomes difficult for us to shift to heads-up position. It is even more difficult trying to bounce back and forth between the two.

The urgency of heads-down demands usually trump the longer-term importance of being heads-up, so many people rarely visit this vantage point. As you work to expand your creative capacity, make sure to proactively schedule some heads-up time for your team, and hold each other accountable not only for grammatical errors on a memo but, more importantly, for being heads-up and unleashing your imagination and creativity.

Creative Intelligence – sometimes it is life or death

Creative approaches to tough problems show up in unexpected places. When the US Special Forces first parachuted into Afghanistan after 9/11, they found themselves adopting some unusual martial techniques to manage the terrain and gain respect in the eyes of the local people. They succeeded because they had been trained to find creative solutions to novel problems. Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/aT5efn.

There’s more to innovation than good ideas

It’s not enough to come up with a good idea, especially if you’re the CEO. Sometimes, all you get is an “Air Sandwich.” At Autodesk, the CEO came up with six good ideas, and they all failed. Here’s why: http://bit.ly/9cu5Ut.

Seth Godin Says Ideas That Spread, Win

Seth Godin likes to tell the story of the inventor of sliced bread. Apparently, it failed – for 17 years – until someone else figured out how to market it. That someone was Wonder Bread. See the full story here – and make sure you read the first comment for a different perspective: http://bit.ly/aIhUgL

The Improv Encyclopedia

This may be the coolest encyclopedia ever. It’s stuffed with ice-breakers, creativity games, and exercises designed to increase your team’s creativity. Use the on-line version as a resource, or download it and keep it all to yourself: http://bit.ly/axNTuV

There are so many powerful business lessons we can learn from the world of jazz. This fluid, improvisation art form is all about taking risks and trying new things. Going out on limb can be scary, but it is where the magic happens. Extending yourself outside your comfort zone is where the best rewards will be discovered.

Jazz is also about listening. Listening to your fellow musicians, the audience, and your own creative voice. In business, that means listening to your team, your customers, your competitors, your industry, your suppliers, the latest trends and best practice, and of course, your own creativity. Through focused listening comes adaptation. Allowing the environment and your collaborators to influence the outcome as a group. Seeking inspiration and creativity from others, and adapting in real-time to your own Creative Challenge.

The most in-demand jazz musicians are not typically the ones with the most blazing technique or dazzling solo ability. The ones who always find work are those that support the collective output rather than being a diva. What makes jazz performances memorable is not breathtaking speed or technique; it is all about establishing a connection and crafting true, artistic, musical expression. It’s about creating something special that resonates with your audience.

The same is true in the business world. The best leaders and the people who get promoted are not selfish, me-centric show-offs. Instead, the new era of business rewards those that collaborate and work to serve their colleagues and their customers. Individual brilliance is great, but purposeful group engagement is worshiped. Any one person can be strong, but a tightly integrated group becomes unstoppable. As the African proverb states, “When spider webs unite, they tie up a lion.”

Finally, look out for what I call “The Jazz Trap”. This is the situation where musicians get so caught up in a look-what-I-can-do mindset that they lose connection with their audience. These musicians add complexity for the sake of it, and are so busy showing off their technical brilliance that their art suffers (as does anyone who happens to be listening).

Don’t forget that your creativity must always be directed at a specific business challenge. You should be focused on solving problems in the best way, not the most complex way. There have been many ad campaigns that have won awards but failed to sell any products. Let your creativity flow completely unrestricted throughout the creative process, but don’t forget to ultimately select the solution that will create the best results, not the one that is the most dazzling.

Jazz improvisation is like a fluid conversation among friends; you make it up as you go. There’s no script, and the best discussions are never rehearsed. Think of yourself as a jazz musician, taking risks and using these techniques to improvise fresh and original ideas. Imagination will flow. Inspiration will hit. Sparks with ignite. And that blank page will be no match for your unbridled creativity.

Click here to view the entire six-part series, Creative Sparks from the World of Jazz