In this informal, humor‑laden monologue, host Mike McCallowitz argues that entrepreneurs should stop obsessing over being "better" than their competition and instead focus on being "different". He opens by recommending Seth Godin’s book The Dip, then illustrates his point with the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, noting that while Phelps (the best) is remembered, other gold‑medalists who were merely better than most are forgotten. He contends that being the best is extremely hard, using Phelps’s alleged drug use as an example, and proposes that standing out through uniqueness—like a diver performing a cannonball—gets noticed even without winning. The core lesson is: prioritize differentiation over incremental improvement. The segment ends with a playful, sarcastic exchange with a coworker named Tappy, underscoring the speaker’s brash confidence and comedic style.
Chapters
Welcome to On a Roll. And now, here's your host, Mike McCallowitz. If you think better is better, you're in for a doozy of a video or message or whatever I'm about to tell you. But first, I want to start off with my swagster. Check out this little thing that slipped onto my desk. The Dip by Seth Godin. I write it in about 2 milliseconds. I think it's 6 pages long. It's really, it's really a good book. It's a great book. Seth Godin's the Dip. I highly recommend it. Okay, so let's talk about better. So many entrepreneurs are striving to be better. I'm sure you are better than your competition in some way. I'm sure you're better in a few things. The thing is, better doesn't get noticed. Think about the Olympics. Everyone knows Michael Phelps. He was the best. He, he got eight gold medals. Eight. But what about the other guys that got one or two golds? You don't even know their name now, they were better. They were better than most, but they weren't the best. So the best wins. But there's a problem with being the best. It's really, really effing hard to be the best. I mean, Michael Phelps has smoked a lot of pot to be that good. So the key here is being different. Different wins. Different gets noticed. Could you imagine at the next Olympics, one of the divers does a cannonball into the water and doesn't dive in like the rest? That guy's going to get noticed. I don't know if he's going to win the race, but he'll get noticed. So here's the lesson for today. Different gets noticed and you better. Back with some quality. But stop trying to always be better or trying to be the best. It's too hard. Just be different. Hmm. So let's talk about who's better here. Let's actually start with Tappy. Where are you better at? Tappy? Excuse me? That half witted ninny isn't better at anything. I am better than everyone in this office. I'm better at eating, writing. Tell you one thing ain't better. Smelling.
