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- The Category Physics
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The most successful professionals aren't competing, they're creating entirely new games. While everyone else fights for market share in established categories, category creators capture something far more valuable: they own the entire conversation.
Here's what most professionals miss: in any new category, the creator typically captures 76% of the total market capitalization. Not 50%. Not 60%. Seventy-six percent. This isn't luck or first-mover advantage. It's physics. Category creation follows predictable laws as reliable as gravity, and once you understand these mechanics, you'll never compete in someone else's category again.
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Why Physics > Competition
The data is striking. When Al Ries and Jack Trout first identified this pattern, they thought it was an anomaly. But look at every major category creation in the last 30 years.
Salesforce didn't build a better CRM, they created "cloud computing" and captured unprecedented market value. Tony Robbins didn't become another motivational speaker, he created "peak performance coaching" and built an empire. The pattern repeats across every industry: category creators don't win, they dominate so completely it rewrites the rules of competition.
Most professionals believe success comes from being better. Better service, better credentials, better processes. This is the expertise trap. While you're perfecting your craft within existing boundaries, category creators are redrawing the map entirely. They understand something fundamental: markets reward different exponentially more than markets reward better.
Think about your own purchasing decisions. When you need cloud storage, do you Google "cloud storage providers" or do you go directly to Dropbox? When you want to hire a business strategist, do you search for "business strategy consultants" or do you look for someone who does what only they do?
Category creators don't compete on comparison charts because they've made comparison irrelevant.
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The 76% Market Effect
The physics of category creation operates on three fundamental forces:
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