MBA2651 Q&A Wednesday: How Do I Stop Comparing Myself to Everyone Online?

Scrolling through social media can sometimes leave you feeling like you don’t measure up. Seeing everyone’s highlight reels can make your own business (or life) seem ordinary in comparison—but it’s time to break free from the comparison trap. Sally sent in this question, wondering how to stop comparing herself to everyone else online, and Omar is tackling it head-on. He dives into the reality behind those perfect photos and big wins, sharing practical strategies to shift your focus, boost your confidence, and protect your mindset while growing your business. You’ll learn how to turn envy into research, celebrate your own progress, and curate your online space for positivity and growth. Ready to break free from the cycle and reclaim your motivation? Hit the play button at the top of the page and dive into this lesson—it’s time to focus on your own journey, no filters needed. To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q. Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHiSUBSCRIBEYouTube | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Podcast Feed

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:25Speaker 00

  New launches, perfect bodies, seven-figure months, vacation photos with exotic backgrounds, right? And here you are, trying to figure out why your last post got 11 views. Today's Q&A Wednesday's episode is a question from Sally, and she asks a very popular question that I get asked a lot: How do I stop comparing myself to everyone online?

• 1:53Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host Omar Zenhome, where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to help you start, grow, and scale your business.

• 2:06Speaker 00

  Let's talk about the psychology of it, the reality of the situation, and what actually works to break free from this mental quicksand. We're going to learn how to live with social media the right way. Let's start with the uncomfortable truth. Social media is a highlight reel. It's not reality. It's not the truth. At least, it's not the whole truth, right? You know this already, but it's worth repeating. I could tell you firsthand, I've spoken to influencers that are crushing it online, who couldn't make payroll. I've seen viral creators who secretly hate their business. I've met founders who post selfies with business class boarding passes kind of peeking into the frame,

• 2:52Speaker 00

  who sleep like three hours a night because they have so much anxiety. People exaggerate. People spin, okay? People show you the best 5% of their life and their business, and leave out 95% of everything else. What's everything else? The chaos, the fear, the slow progress, the numbers, the actual reality of their life and business. And let's be honest, we all do this to some extent as well, too, right? Even in our wins, we polish them up and show the best photos possible. We use filters. We frame it just right, right? So stop comparing your truth, everything you know about your life, to the fiction that you see online,

• 3:38Speaker 00

  to the most polished version of any moment. Think about that for a moment. You're comparing your real life to somebody's branding strategy. That's not fair, and it's not useful. Here's what comparison really does. First of all, it robs you of joy. The best thing you can do is never compare yourself to anybody other than yourself. I like to compare Compare myself to who I was yesterday, right? I just want to improve. That's all really what you want to do. Now, it doesn't mean that I never compare myself to other people. It's natural to do that, but I try to catch myself what is happening. Why? Because I notice when I'm comparing myself to other people, it shifts my focus from my own path to somebody else's path.

• 4:20Speaker 00

  It turns inspiration even into insecurity. You know, you might be inspired by what somebody's doing, but if you dwell on it too much, you often start to feel insecure about your own life and your own achievements. And worst of all, it slows down your action, right? Because you're living in your head and you're not doing, right? You know how many people I've seen delay a launch or kill a great product idea because they saw someone else already doing it. That's the trap. If you see someone winning, it doesn't mean you're losing, okay? That's a zero-sum game mentality where you think that there could only be one winner. No, you can win and somebody else can win. You know, that means the market's working and that's a good sign.

• 5:04Speaker 00

  Let me give you a real example from my own experience. When I launched my software company, Webinar Ninja, there were already a ton of webinar tools and a lot of tools coming out as I was growing it. Tools like GoToWebinar, Zoom, WebinarJam, those were my competitors. But I didn't say, "Well, I guess I'm too late, or I guess I should just pack up my business because somebody else came out with a similar product." I said, "Great, this market is proven. Let me make something better for my people." Today, that decision helped us build a multimillion-dollar business so valuable, it allowed us to be acquired. Not because we were first, but because we didn't get distracted. We stayed focused. We didn't look at other people and say, "Hey, what are they doing?

• 5:46Speaker 00

  Oh, man, they're doing so good. I love what they're doing over there." All right, let's get tactical. Here's what I've done and what works when it comes to this, to stop comparison and to focus on execution. Because really, that's what matters. Turn envy into research. Next time you feel jealous or inferior, do this. Don't hate it. Don't hate that person. Don't hate that thing. Analyze it, right? Look at it under the microscope, right? Ask, what exactly is working for them? Are their videos short and punchy? What about the video that is engaging? Do they have a tighter niche? Are they, you know, doing storytelling better than you? Learn from it. Study it.

• 6:30Speaker 00

  Then use what you've learned to do better in your own business. Turn that comparison into improvement. That's really what I'm trying to do here. Like, learn from something that you see that is great. The holidays are the season business owners get pulled in six directions. More calls, more requests, more chances for things to slip through the cracks. Hoping you catch it all isn't a plan. That's why today's episode is brought to you by QUO, spelt Q-U-O. The business phone built so you never miss a call or a customer. Ever have a lead call or text at 10:00 PM? QUO's AI agent handles both 24/7. It answers questions, gets to the details, and can text them a link to book an appointment. By morning, you've got the summary and can jump right in. And nobody should have to ask customers to repeat themselves.

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• 7:44Speaker 00

  Today's episode is sponsored by Whatnot. You've probably heard about live selling, and it's taking off on Whatnot. Sellers on Whatnot don't need a storefront or paid social media ads to reach customers. This is what I love about it, because with live video, you interact and engage with your customers. You just need your phone, and buyers can ask questions. They can make purchases in real time. On Whatnot, you could see people selling from living rooms and warehouses, selling sneakers, electronics, vintage, even a guy on a boat selling lobsters he just caught. Thousands of items are sold every minute because customers get to know sellers. And see the products live for many sellers. It's gone from side hustle to full time job since they're selling 10 times here than on other marketplaces.

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• 8:54Speaker 00

  Number two, make your progress visible to yourself. This is huge. This is big. Create what I call a wins folder. I personally call it a rainy day folder. It's a folder on your phone or on your computer where every win, big or small, you put it in the folder. A great email from a customer, a post that performed well, a review of your podcast that just surfaced as somebody just sent. A sale, right, that was really impactful, maybe your first sale, maybe even a photo of a journal entry. Where you had a moment where you had a tough time and you didn't quit. Track these things, okay, because your brain will forget all the progress you've made when you're in that comparison game.

• 9:37Speaker 00

  And when that comparison creeps up, you need reminders. Tap into your folder, tap into that wins folder. Number three, design your feed. Be ruthless about how you use social media. This isn't woo woo, you know, kind of information. This is mental hygiene, you know? You don't need to follow everybody that follows you, okay? Anybody that triggers you, you don't need to follow them. Creators who make you feel less than you should feel. You can just, you know, say, I don't want to see these posts anymore. Friends who actually secretly are competing with you, people that act like your friends, but they're, you know, want to see you go down. You know, unfollow them, you know, you don't need to see their posts.

• 10:20Speaker 00

  You can mute, you can unfollow, you can just clean up what you see when you open up social media. Follow people who Teach you, that help you, that wanna see you win, follow people that inspire you with vulnerability, with honesty, with truthfulness, anybody that can help you grow, those are the people you should follow. Your feed is your environment, remember that, and your environment shapes your mindset. Sally, who asked today's question, and anyone else struggling with this, you're not alone. Comparison is human. It's ancient, it's since the beginning of time, but so is the solution. Focus on your race, on your path, on your work, and trust your path is meant for you, right? This is what you need to do, not them, right?

• 11:05Speaker 00

  This is your thing. You don't need to win faster, you don't need to win like them, you're gonna win in your own unique way. And what I've found is that it's really just about staying in the game long enough to win. So, don't get distracted. So, how do you stay in the game long enough to win? Well, you gotta protect your mind, you gotta guard your energy, right? You gotta show up consistently, even when nobody's clapping, right, or saying "good job", because eventually, they will, alright? They will praise you, you're gonna see. But you got to do it despite of what's happening around you, right? And you have to create the environment around you, even online, that helps you do that. Thanks so

• 11:47Speaker 00

  much for being part of the $100 MBA Show, being a listener, being a subscriber. If you've got a question you wanna ask, go ahead and ask it right here on Q&A Wednesday by just going to 100mba.net/ q to submit your question right there. And of course, if you wanna go deeper with me, you wanna join my three things newsletter. What is a three things newsletter? Well, first of all, it's free. Number two, it allows me to coach you from afar. I give you three things every single week. First, something to think about, so you're growing your mindset. Number two, something to do, so you're actually taking action week after week. And number three, something to learn, so you're scaling up and becoming better every week that goes by. Just go to 100mba.net, sign up for any of our free resources, and you get added to our newsletter automatically. Again, it's

• 12:31Speaker 00

  free. 95% of everything that I offer is free, and it's because I wanna make sure nobody... Anybody has any excuse to build that business they've always wanted. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow, and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe to this podcast. Hit subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now, whether it's Apple or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. By hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you've subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.

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