Todays market is overcrowded and competitive. Everyone wants to be different from the other ,i.e.

, stand out from the crowd. But is everyone successful in doing this? Standing out from the crowd means to be yourself, being confident, not hesitate in speaking your mind, do things differently and/or do different things. It can sometimes be difficult to achieve being different but not impossible, if your goal is set. Let us look at some ways in which you can surely stand out from the crowd.

Everyone has a different definition for life. The very first step of being different is to look at yourself and ask what does standing out from the crowd mean for me? This involves looking at your inner self and accepting yourself as you are. When you accept yourself, you gain more confidence and that projects through your behavior.

Dont cry over spilt milk. A positive attitude drives one to be a successful person and a good human being. By avoiding negative thinking and other worries, a person with a positive attitude looks at life with optimism and hope. This makes them happier, smarter, likeable, creative, successful and different from the crowd.

The author of the famous series Harry Potter- J.K. Rowlings life was never a bed of roses.
She wrote the very first manuscript of Harry Potter on a typewriter at a time when she was recently divorced and struggling to work to earn for her child. She struggled to get her manuscript published for a whole year. She had a fighting spirit in her and a positive attitude that drove her to publications even after twelve rejections.

Take risks at work to show that you are not afraid of failure but are ready to learn from your mistakes. Only if you take risks will you be able to do something different and get ahead in life. Initiate- take action while everyone at work keeps wondering over what is to be done. Volunteer to help others in need. Dont keep waiting for help to come your way, go ahead and do the work yourself. Fear of failure will only pull you down.

Tanya was a new employee, an outgoing person who was never afraid of hard work, appointed as the Corporate communication manager with a famous company. She wanted more from her workplace and wanted to be recognized by everyone. She made a proposal to start a new, internal channel for the employees, where they can take bytes from different divisional heads and show weekly updates to each division, posted on the intranet of the company. Her boss gave her the chance to try the idea out. She worked hard towards it and within a month, a video was uploaded on the company intranet. Thereafter every week a new video was uploaded and this initiative was loved by all, thus making Tanya an unique employee .

Do things differently and find new ways of doing things that other people are just wondering about.

Take some unique ideas and put them into action. This will not only add to you being different, but will also get you noticed by other employees and seniors.

Another way of being innovative is to do the same task in a different manner, i.e., to find alterative ways to get the desired results.

Chetan Bhagat can be termed as one of Indias young, innovative writers. When the entire nation was either hung up on the internet or reading self-help books, a writer came up with a fantastic book which students could relate to. Five Point Someone the first book by Chetan Bhagat was liked by all. Written in simple language, it gave the true picture of the life of an IITian.

His stories of young people their fears and ambitions captivated the young Indians.

By communication written/oral you can convey your ideas , thoughts and opinions Importance of communication can never be underestimated. You can impress any body by giving a good speech/presentation or a plain memo, proposal. Communication also means being a good listener observing, learning

Arjun Khanna was a bright young engineer who was posted in the remote factory of a maintenance department. Once the CEO visited the factory and in an informal exchange with the employees, Arjun impressed the CEO with his ideas about increasing the efficiency of the particular machine by some innovate practice. The CEO asked him to send a one page proposal and subsequently asked him to give a presentation to the R& D committee. His suggestions were taken into account and he was made the part of new technology committee at the Head Office.

Understand people- place yourself in the other persons shoes in order to understand their feelings.

Sympathy is when you listen to them but do not understand what they are going through. It is very important to make the other person feel important and understandable. Do not take anyone for granted as every person is important for the organization. Build a good rapport with everyone.

A man gets in with his two sons, the sons are running all over the place bothering the people, this continues, so one young man finally gets irritated enough to ask the father why he doesn't do something to control his kids. The father replies, "We just got back from the hospital where their mother died. I don't know how to handle it and I guess they don't either." Suddenly you see everything differently. That is the power of empathy. The same kids yelling and screaming in the subway, but you look at them and understand them in a differently.

It is very easy to follow the footsteps of the crowd but it means you are lost in the crowd. Be different ..create your own personality, image Bring out your uniqueness in you strengths, weaknesses, experience, talent etc Have the conviction to back your uniqueness.

Aamir Khan makes his own statements. He does not follow the trends/rules of the film industry He is a person who always experiments whether it is his choice of movies, role, appearance or promotion Whether it is the cute college boy look of 3 idiots or the rugged look in Gajani or the tough Police Officer look in Talaash. Aamir Khan makes his own style statements.

If you are rude, arrogant or moody, nobody will be interested in talking to you. Good and polite behavior gets rewarded everywhere. Politeness, not only with your seniors but also with your juniors reflects that you respect and treat everyone equally. Stop being jealous of others, be happy with what you are, smile and laugh with everyone around you, try not to raise your voice or argue. A good behavior goes a very long way and when people see this in you, they would love to be with you as you will be different from the rest of the crowd.

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace; the Dalai Lama.
There is a lot that we can learn from the life of His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso- the 14th Dalai Lama. A man of peace, who constantly advocates non-violence, even during the aggression period in Tibet. He has spread the message of nonviolence, peace, understanding, universal responsibility and compassion towards all living beings.

Standing out from the crowd doesnt mean that you would make changes in your behavior for a few days or months. It means to be consistent and bring a good change in your behavior for the rest of your life. You need to develop a strong identity that people can look up to and count on when necessary. To succeed, you need to stand out from the crowd in a good, polite and correct way.