Freestyle Fridays: Why This Message Needs to Be Repeated
Freestyle Fridays exist for one reason: truth. They are uncut, unedited, unscripted, and real. This episode was recorded on a brutally cold December morning in Zionsville, Indiana, with temperatures sitting at zero degrees and a windchill far below that. And just like that cold, some messages need to hit hard to wake people up. This may be the fourth, fifth, or seventh time you have heard this message. But maybe today is the day it finally lands and creates real change.
The Trap of Trying to Be the Next Someone Else
I hear it all the time. I want to be the next Kobe Bryant. I want to be the next leader in my industry. I want to be the next version of this top producer or that well-known name. And here is the hard truth. Trying to be the next someone else is one of the biggest things holding you back from becoming who you are actually meant to be. The moment you start focusing on copying someone else’s path, you begin losing your own identity. You stop showing up as you. You become a diluted version of someone who already exists. The world does not need another clone. It needs your originality.
Why Uniqueness Is the Real Competitive Advantage
We have all seen it. Someone speaks, posts, or presents and immediately you think, they sound exactly like someone else. That is not a compliment. That is a signal that authenticity has been sacrificed for imitation. I have been told before that I sound like other well-known speakers in my space. I take that as respect, but it is not my goal. My goal is to be the strongest, clearest, most effective version of Chris Welton. That only happens when I stop conforming and start owning my voice. Your uniqueness is how you win at a high level. Your story, your delivery, your perspective are the differentiators.
Social Media, Copycat Culture, and the Loss of Identity
Look around social media, especially in industries like mortgage and finance. Everyone is posting the same videos, following the same trends, chasing virality, and hoping the algorithm rewards them. Some videos take off. Some do not. That part is out of your control. What is in your control is whether you show up as yourself. When people listen to this podcast or see me on stage, they know it is me. Different. Direct. Authentic. That is intentional. People do business with people they trust, not replicas of someone else.
Learn From Others Without Becoming Them
There is a difference between learning and copying. Success leaves clues. I read constantly. I study speakers. I analyze writing styles. I pay attention to how leaders communicate. But everything goes through a filter. The voice must remain mine. I am not using other people’s tactics to become lazy or to carbon copy their brand. I use them to compress time while still building something original. Even feedback must be filtered. Sometimes people offer advice that would turn you into them. That advice may be well-intentioned, but it may not be aligned with who you are meant to be.
Stop Living in the COVID Numbers
Here is another hard truth, especially for those in business and mortgage. COVID was almost six years ago. Stop telling stories about what you closed during that time. Much of that success had very little to do with individual skill and everything to do with market conditions. The real question is this: what are you doing now? The most successful people I work with today are often younger. Many were not even in the industry during COVID. They are winning because they are not anchored to the past. They adapted. They learned. They built new strategies. They did not sit around waiting for another boom that may never come.
Why Waiting for the Market to Save You Is a Losing Strategy
I see too many people hoping for a refinance boom or a return to easier conditions. What if that never happens again? What if this market is the market for the next decade? If you are waiting, you will run out of money and momentum. Companies fail not because they lack opportunity, but because they refuse to pivot. It does not matter what company you are at or what your title is. If you have not created a unique, bold, differentiated approach to business, you are vulnerable.
Do the Work to Become You, Not Them
Figure out what makes you different. Your origin story. Your perspective. Why someone should choose you over everyone else. Then do the work. That part matters. And if you are not coached, you need to be. Bottom line. I do not need to be your coach, but someone needs to be. Most organizations lack true leadership development. The leaders who win consistently are coached. Every single one of them.
Final Thoughts: You Are Not Meant to Be a Copy
If you continue chasing the next version of someone else, you may completely miss who you were meant to become. What if you already have what it takes, but imitation is holding you back? I wake up every day focused on being a better version of Chris. I was born different. One arm. Different path. Different lens. That is not a limitation. It is a responsibility to lead boldly and authentically. My goal is impact. Massive impact. The question for you is this: where are you trying to go, and who do you need to become to get there? Keep evolving. Keep getting uncomfortable. Keep doing hard things. That is where real growth lives.
