7 dishonest tips that will give you an edge in your work.

Ever heard of unfair advantages? It’s the advantages that effective professionals have been given for free and for nothing. That’s not fair 🙂 The good news? You can learn them too.

Originally, the name “unfair advantage” comes from the investment world. Investors there are constantly looking for the unfair advantage of a new product, for example.

An example of such an unfair advantage is that you are the only one who masters the technology to make such a product. That gives you an edge over the competition and thus makes it more interesting to invest.

Professionals can also have “unfair advantages” on a personal level. These are advantages that make it easier for those professionals to get things done and thus be more successful than professionals who do not take advantage of them.

‘That’s not fair’ you will say. The good news is that you can just learn these unfair advantages. It may take some effort, but you can do it. In this article you will find seven of these unfair advantages. Be inspired!

Unfair advantage 1: being able to be open to change

Going on autopilot is easy and comfortable, but it won’t change your environment. Deviating from the beaten path is not always easy and takes courage, but may be necessary to achieve your goals.

So get out of your comfort zone. Change is often accompanied by confusion and uncertainty. It is good to realize that where there is confusion, there is also growth. So get out of your comfortzone and look for a little confusion.

Unfair advantage 2: Being able to make conscious choices

When you know where you want to go, when you know what is right or wrong, when you know what does or does not contribute to achieving your goal(s), choices suddenly become a lot easier.

A fundamental component of inner leadership is that you develop a guiding vision, a moral compass. A moral compass makes you proactive. You are not a plaything of your environment, but are behind the wheel yourself, making conscious choices, with a clear direction in mind.

Unfair advantage 3: Bringing out positive thoughts

People who think positively are not so different from people who think negatively. They both think and both believe in what they think, they both focus their attention on a part of reality.

It is good to realize that ”A negative mind will never give you a positive life.” Learn to focus your attention on positive things. On the good, not on the bad. On what you have, not on what is missing.

Unfair advantage 4: being able to focus on the important things

Start with the end in mind and make sure you have a clear focus on your end goal. Focus is the dot on the horizon, what do you think is important, where do you want to go, what do you want to achieve and what does that look like.

Make sure you have a positive focus. In fact, a positive focus creates more energy. A positive focus means a focus on what you do want in the future, a focus on what you do want in current or past situations and a focus on what went and is going well. Focus your energy primarily on your ‘Circle of Influence¹, on those things you can really do something about.

Unfair advantage 5: being able to focus entirely on another person

When you are in conversation, focus your attention and energy completely on the other person. ‘Completely’ does not mean that you can also be busy with something else. Multitasking is an illusion in this respect.

Make sure you make eye contact because that’s the only way you really connect. Let the other person finish talking and ask questions. And it’s a specific way of asking questions called “modest request’.

The definition of a modest request is as follows: To request someone modestly is the art of hearing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer, of entering into a relationship based on curiosity and genuine interest in the other person.

Unfair advantage 6: being able to take responsibility

Your challenge is your challenge. You are the owner of your life. So if things are against you, it’s not always because of the other person. Nor is that other person likely to solve it for you.

Complaining doesn’t help and gives a lot of negative energy, self-pity doesn’t help you move forward. Looking away won’t solve anything and destructive behavior (eating too much, drinking, gaming, smoking, etc) won’t make it go away either. Never shift responsibility over your happiness, as you are the only one responsible for it.

Unfair advantage 7: Being able to slow down occasionally

Silence connects, it connects you to your deepest being and leads to deep rest and relaxation. ‘In silence – in meditation – inspiration and creativity arise.’

And silence provides an excellent opportunity to reflect. Research shows that successful people have a good capacity for (self)reflection. What am I doing, and how am I doing it, is my direction still the right one, these are all questions that can come up during reflection on your own actions. It causes important issues to surface.