The Only Role You're Perfectly Cast For

Oscar Wilde reminded us that "be yourself; everyone else is already taken." It sounds like simple advice, almost flippant. But there's a profound liberation hidden in those words.

We spend enormous energy trying to be the person we think we should be. The professional our industry expects. The parent our children need. The partner who meets every expectation. We curate ourselves, editing out the rough edges, the quirks, the inconvenient truths of who we actually are.

The problem isn't that these roles matter. They do. It's that somewhere in the performance, we lose track of the performer.

Being yourself isn't about indulging every impulse or refusing to grow. It's about recognizing that the foundation of everything you do, every role you play, has to be built on something real. You can't sustain a life built on imitation. The mask eventually cracks.

When you try to be someone else, you're competing in a game you can't win. That person already exists, and they'll always be better at being them than you will. But no one, absolutely no one, can be you better than you can.

The world doesn't need another copy. It needs what only you can offer: your particular mix of experience, perspective, wounds, and wisdom. Your authentic contribution, whatever that looks like.

So stop auditioning for a role that's already cast. The only position that's truly open is the one no one else can fill.

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.