Niche mates, not competitors.

​How do you feel about the word “competition”? For us self-employed people, that word can create anxiety and resistance. Being “competitive” tends to make human beings less cooperative.

Instead, I recommend using the term “niche mates” — other worthy human beings who occupy the same industry niche as us.

They, too, have families to feed, and dreams they hope to achieve. And, similar to us, they also have hidden suffering in their life that, if we only knew, would inspire our deep compassion.

The wo...