With so much talent going around in the modern world, standing out has become more and more difficult. At the current point, it is almost impossible to the best in any area, because some people with lots of natural talent and a huge amount of time and training will dominate. And even then, being the best doesn’t mean being the most popular, which partly comes down to luck.
While this sounds overwhelming, there is a simple solution. Don’t try to devote your life to standing out in a single area. You have several skills, several interests. See how you can combine them to make something interesting. If you’re really good at cooking and you like fashion, you can pride yourself in making aesthetic but convenient cooking outfits. If you like guitar and also painting, you can start making paintings based on guitar riffs, and you can challenge others to do the same to make an event out of it. A JSM favourite is to combine art, music, storytelling and more into a game, which amounts to more than the sum of its parts.
When you start thinking like this, the tables turn. There are only so many skills on this planet, but there is a near-infinite amount of niche combinations you can make with them. Suddenly, you’re spoiled for choice on what to specialise in. Leaning into your natural talents and current experience is a good idea, but not at all necessary for success.