Lyuba golovina

Though many will try.

Remember the crazy green wildfire from Game of Thrones?

Turns out, something similar existed back in the Byzantine Empire around the 7th century BC.

This liquid weapon known as “Greek Fire” could be delivered using a siphon to spray enemy ships from a distance.

As legend has it, Greek Fire even burned in water. By some accounts, when enemies tried to extinguish it using water, the flames burned even more vigorously.

What’s more, the fire could stick to anything it touched — be it the ship’s surface or human flesh. Point is, you did not want to be on the receiving end of this horrifying fire hose. Ever.

Anyway, that’s not the most impressive thing about Greek Fire.

What’s truly mind-blowing is that plenty of other empires and armies tried to recreate it for themselves, and yet no one could ever figure out how to make it.

To this day, the recipe for Greek Fire remains a mystery.

One leading theory is that the key ingredients were indigenous to the region where it was made at the time, meaning the stuff you needed to make it simply didn’t exist anywhere else.

The result?

No one else could copy it.

So what’s this got to do with you?

This:

You too can apply the same approach to your own work — whether you’re a writer, marketer, artist, or comedian — so you also become impossible to copy.

How to be uncopiable

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

That may be true.

But what about when someone straight-up copies you? Very annoying.

Then again, if you can be copied, that means you’re copyable.

So why not apply the “Greek Fire” idea to guarantee your work is impossible to copy?

Take a look at the top writers on Medium, or even best-selling authors like David Sedaris, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Cheryl Strayed.

You’ll notice they infuse almost every story they write with something from their own experience.

It might be a simple anecdote or a more elaborate story. It could even be a piece of dialogue they overheard or exchanged with someone.

Point is, their writing includes pieces taken from their own life that no one else could experience in the same way.

In doing this, you leave fingerprints on your work that are 100% unique to you and impossible to imitate.

Add more personality to your work

Many writers keep journals for this very reason.

Some of the biggest and most interesting lessons you learn in life usually aren’t obvious as you’re living through them.

It can take months or years to extract the wisdom from some of those events. That’s where reading through your journals can be extremely inspirational.

If that’s not your cup of tea, here are a few tips and resources to help you extract stories and experiences from your life you might have previously overlooked:

• Try using Ray Bradbury’s Noun Method to generate unique ideas
• Use Lateral Thinking to help memories and associations bubble up to the surface
• Make a list of the most important events in your life and what they taught you

Make sure to follow this “golden rule”

The point of your personal stories and experiences is to share lessons and offer clear takeaways other people can relate to.

That’s why so many people gravitate to writers who can share powerful, deep messages wrapped in an entertaining or touching story.

Most importantly, the stories they tell are from their point of view, offering a unique take on the world.

As a result, they are the only ones who can share them in that specific way.

You walk away entertained and feeling like you’ve gained wisdom — even if they’re talking about a recent visit to the doctor’s office.

Wrapping up

Whatever field you’re in, be it marketing, writing or art, once you get to a certain level people will try to copy you. That’s just how it works.

And while others may succeed in imitating your work, when you draw your creativity from your own personal wisdom, stories, and experiences, no one will ever be able to capture your true essence.

Just as many other countries spent centuries trying to figure out Greek Fire, no one was ever able to copy the formula to get the same results.

The best way to get to that point in your work?

Draw on the experiences and perspectives that are available to you, and no one else.

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