What this episode is about:
Why originality is becoming more valuable — not less — in a world flooded with AI, copycats, and cloned ideas.
The easier it becomes to create content…
The harder it becomes to stand out.
AI can now:
Write posts
Generate videos
Design logos
Clone voices
Recreate styles
In seconds.
That used to take teams.
Now it takes prompts.
And when everything becomes easier to produce…
Originality becomes premium.
The Illusion of Competition
I’ve seen this pattern in business long before AI.
Someone sees something working.
They copy the tactic.
They replicate the surface.
They try to undercut.
But they never win long-term.
Because they copied the execution…
Not the perspective.
Execution can be duplicated.
Perspective cannot.
The Freestyle Advantage
When I was younger, I didn’t realize this.
I just knew I liked to stand out.
Orange hair.
Hip-hop in Hawaii.
Freestyling when other people were playing it safe.
Even rapping in Aloha Petroleum’s boardroom. (see Episode 7)
At the time, it felt like personality.
Now I realize it was positioning.
You can’t replicate someone who is fully themselves.
You can only imitate the surface.
And surface-level imitation collapses fast.
The AI Moment We’re In
We’re entering a phase where:
Content is cheap.
Design is instant.
Video is automated.
Ads are templated.
Thought leadership is outsourced.
That sounds threatening.
But it’s actually clarifying.
Because when everyone has access to the same tools…
The only differentiator left is:
How you think.
Your lived experience.
Your pattern recognition.
Your contradictions.
Your taste.
Your tone.
Your risk tolerance.
Your story.
That’s not promptable. (well, not fully)
In Business Terms
Tactics are commodities.
Brand is leverage.
You can copy:
My pricing.
My sign design.
My business model.
My workflows.
You cannot copy:
My relationships.
My reputation.
My instincts.
My network.
My long-term pattern recognition.
And that’s what compounds.
Why This Matters Now
A lot of founders are nervous about AI.
They’re worried about being replaced.
I see it differently.
AI will compress the middle.
Average will become invisible.
Generic will flood the market.
And the original will stand out more than ever.
When everything looks similar…
Distinct becomes rare.
Rare becomes valuable.
What This Was Really About
This episode isn’t about AI.
It’s about identity as strategy.
You don’t need to scream louder.
You don’t need to out-post everyone.
You don’t need to copy what’s trending.
You need to:
Know who you are.
Say what only you can say.
Build from lived experience.
Develop a recognizable voice.
Because once someone recognizes you…
You’re no longer interchangeable.
And that’s the moat.
Steal This
If you’re building right now:
Don’t chase trends. Build perspective.
Don’t copy style. Develop voice.
Don’t rely on tactics. Build identity.
Use AI as a tool — not a personality.
And remember:
You can only be second-best at being someone else.
You are automatically number one at being you.
Takeaway
The future belongs to founders who are hard to replicate.
Not because they hide their playbook…
But because their playbook is built from experience no one else lived.
If you’ve read this far, you might enjoy my music too.
https://ctzns.co
🤙
I made this with Gemini. It’s getting better 😀