One Culprit: The Common Enemy That Unites Your World

What You’re Fighting Against Matters More Than What You’re Fighting For

I spent years trying to be positive and professional in my content.

Always focusing on solutions. Always looking for the bright side. Never criticizing anyone or anything because that seemed petty and unprofessional.

You know what happened? My content was boring as hell.

Nobody shared it. Nobody argued with it. Nobody got fired up about it. It was perfectly pleasant and completely forgettable.

Then I wrote a post calling out all the people who insist there’s only one “right” way to build a business. The productivity gurus who act like waking up at 5 AM is a moral requirement. The marketing experts who shame you for not wanting to do launch sequences. The life coaches who make you feel broken if you don’t want to hustle 80 hours a week.

The response was insane. People were sharing their own stories of being told they were doing it wrong. Getting genuinely pissed off about all the times they’d been made to feel inadequate for not following someone else’s blueprint.

That’s when I realized people bond more strongly over what they oppose than what they support.

And what we’re really fighting isn’t bad advice. We’re fighting conformity. The insistence that there’s only one right way to live, work, and succeed.

The Conformity Trap

I can tell you what pisses me off even though I should be in my Zen phase of life right now. Experts who act like their way is the only way.

• “All successful people wake up at 5 AM.” Really? All of them?
• “You have to post on social media every day to build an audience.” According to who?
• “Real entrepreneurs hustle 24/7 and sacrifice everything for their business.” Says who?

This isn’t advice. It’s conformity dressed up as expertise.

And the worst part? When you can’t make their “proven system” work for you, they make you feel like something’s wrong with you. You’re not disciplined enough. You’re not committed enough. You’re making excuses.

Bullshit.

Maybe you’re just not them. Maybe what works for a 25-year-old single guy with no kids doesn’t work for a 40-year-old parent. Maybe what works for an extroverted morning person doesn’t work for an introverted night owl. Maybe what works for someone with a trust fund doesn’t work for someone paying off student loans.

But the conformity police don’t want to hear that. They want everyone to fit into their box because it’s easier to sell one-size-fits-all solutions than to admit that humans are different.

My War Against “The Only Way”

I’ve been fighting this my entire career, even before I realized what I was fighting.

Every job I ever had, there was some manager telling me I needed to network more, speak up more, be more aggressive, be more of a team player. Like there was some universal template for professional success that I was failing to follow.

Every business book I read had the same message: Here’s the proven system. Follow these exact steps. Do what successful people do.

Every productivity guru insisted their morning routine was the secret to everything. Every marketing expert swore their funnel strategy was the only way to grow. Every life coach acted like their framework was the path to fulfillment.

And when their systems didn’t work for me, I thought I was broken.

It took me way too long to realize that I wasn’t broken. The systems were just designed for different humans.

That’s when I started fighting back against the conformity cult. The people who insist there’s only one right way to be successful, productive, creative, happy, whatever.

The Personal Cost of Conformity

Trying to be someone else is exhausting.

I had undiagnosed ADHD until I was 43. That’s 5 decades of masking.

I spent years forcing myself to wake up early because every productivity expert said successful people are early risers. I’m naturally a night owl. I was miserable, unproductive, and constantly tired.

I spent years trying to network like an extrovert because every business book said you have to “work the room” and “build relationships.” I’m an introvert. I hated every minute of it and wasn’t good at it anyway.

I spent years trying to follow other people’s content strategies, marketing tactics, and business models because they had “proven results.” None of them felt authentic, so none of them worked for me.

The conformity trap isn’t just annoying. It’s destructive. It makes you hate yourself for being who you are instead of celebrating what makes you different.

The False Promise of Universal Solutions

The conformity pushers love to talk about “best practices” and “proven systems.”

What works for one person in one situation at one time might be completely wrong for another person in a different situation at a different time.

The morning routine that works for someone with no kids might be impossible for a single parent. The networking strategy that works for an extrovert might drain an introvert. The business model that works for someone in tech might fail in creative industries.

But admitting that would mean admitting that they don’t have all the answers. That their system isn’t universal. That success isn’t one-size-fits-all.

So instead, they double down. They insist that if their system didn’t work for you, you must have done it wrong. You weren’t committed enough. You didn’t try hard enough. You made excuses.

It’s gaslighting disguised as expertise.

The Real Enemy

My culprit isn’t productivity advice or marketing strategies or business frameworks.

It’s the arrogance that says “my way or the highway.” The assumption that what worked for one person should work for everyone. The refusal to acknowledge that humans are different and therefore need different approaches.

It’s the conformity mindset that says deviation from the norm is failure instead of customization.

This shows up everywhere:

• Career advice that assumes everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder
• Parenting advice that assumes every family should look the same
• Financial advice that assumes everyone has the same risk tolerance and values
• Health advice that assumes every body responds the same way
• Business advice that assumes every entrepreneur has the same personality and circumstances

The enemy isn’t the advice itself. It’s the insistence that there’s only one right way to follow it.

Fighting Back

When I started calling out the conformity trap, something amazing happened.

People started sharing their own stories of being made to feel wrong for doing things differently. Night owls who’d been shamed for not being morning people. Introverts who’d been told they needed to be more outgoing. Creative types who’d been forced into analytical frameworks.

They weren’t broken. They weren’t making excuses. They were just different humans who needed different approaches.

That’s when I realized this wasn’t just about business or productivity. This was about giving people permission to be themselves and find their own way instead of copying someone else’s path.

The Permission I Give

Every piece of content I create is basically saying the same thing: You don’t have to do it their way.

You can be successful without waking up at 5 AM. You can build an audience without posting every day. You can grow a business without hustling 80 hours a week. You can be productive without following someone else’s morning routine.

You can find your own way.

(Note: If you’re asking yourself “how,” then you can start to see the foundations for my Code and Creation. Don’t worry, those are coming up.)

This isn’t about lowering standards or making excuses. It’s about recognizing that there are multiple paths to the same destination. And the path that works for you might look completely different from the path that worked for someone else.

The Community Effect

When you consistently fight against conformity, you attract other people who are tired of being told they’re doing it wrong.

They don’t just follow you for tips and tactics. They follow you because you’re fighting their fight. You’re giving them permission to stop trying to be someone else and start being themselves.

You become the voice that says “You’re not broken. You just need a different approach.”

And that creates a tribe of people who celebrate differences instead of demanding conformity.

The Content Generation

Fighting conformity gives me endless content because the enemy is everywhere.

Every day, someone’s pushing a universal solution. Every week, there’s a new “proven system” that everyone should follow. Every month, there’s a new guru insisting their way is the only way.

I can call out the morning routine cult. I can challenge the networking orthodoxy. I can question the hustle culture mythology. I can fight against any advice that starts with “Everyone should…”

Because “everyone should” is almost always wrong.

Your Own Anti-Conformity Fight

Your version of this fight might look different than mine.

Maybe you’re tired of being told how to dress, how to parent, how to spend your money, how to structure your day, how to run your business, how to live your life.

Maybe you’ve been made to feel wrong for being an introvert in an extroverted world, a night owl in a morning person’s society, a creative in an analytical culture.

Maybe you’re sick of experts who act like their personal experience is universal law.

Pay attention to what makes you want to say “That’s not the only way to do it.” What makes you want to defend people who are being told they’re wrong for being different.

That’s your version of the conformity fight.

The world needs more people willing to say “Actually, there are many right ways to do this.”

Your people are waiting for permission to stop conforming and start being themselves.

Give them that permission. Fight that fight.

Because conformity isn’t just boring. It’s harmful. And someone needs to say so.