Be Different
Perhaps a better title for this is to be original and authentic, because you are special if you don't just follow someone else's footsteps.
Just to list a few examples: Jackie Chan started off as a copy of Bruce Lee, but only found success after he found his own style of mixing martial arts with humour. Ronny Chieng is successful because he is one of the few Asian comedians (with his own brutal sense of humour).
Then I want focus on Christopher Nolan. He basically is so different in the world of movies, not directing huge IPs (other than his Dark Knight Trilogy) but every movie he makes is a huge hit... because the movies are different.
You get it.
Don't just copy
Don't just build another ChatGPT wrapper, don't just be another MBA, don't just be another software engineer. Add your own twist to it is what I am saying.
Build a ChatGPT tool for an obsolete industry. Be an MBA grad who goes into a non-traditional industry/ country. Be a software engineer who specialises in a rare stack. Escape the competition because you likely aren't that much better than others, so create your own arena.
Most importantly, be unique, be irreplacable, do something only you can do. In the startup world, this is founder-market fit. In your personal world, this is your identity, this is what makes you, you.
Decide early but join the dots by looking back
Back to Christopher Nolan, I actually watched one of his earlier movies Memento. It is such a beautiful, suspense and low-budget film. And it is uncopiable, because every movie that follows how this movie is shot will just be a cheap-knockoff. Because of this movie, he got to direct bigger budget films like The Prestige and the Batman Trilogy. This is exactly the effect of Momentum that he built up over 10,20 years.
Youth is our strongest asset, the earlier we know which area to specialise in, the longer we have to hone our skills. But sometimes we need to be older to look back and say "Hey, I want to do this because of my past experiences". So there is wisdom in saying "it is never too late to start", because you really just need a few years of dedication to be above average in that area.