Your Superpowers Are Hiding Where You Least Expect
Growing up, I never knew what it felt like to live where everyone looked the same, thought the same, and lived the same way.
I was grew up in Honolulu, the “melting pot of the Pacific, where every face, name, and story came from somewhere different.
Then I moved to Los Angeles, and it was even more mixed. Latin American, Asian, African American, Middle Eastern — it was like the whole world lived in one city.
Later, I got lucky. I traveled to almost 30 countries. I’ve sat at family tables in Cairo, wandered busy markets in Athens, eaten street food in Seoul. Every time, I learned something new — not just about others, but about myself.
But sometimes, the biggest differences aren’t skin deep.
They’re invisible.
The other night, my wife and I were watching a YouTube video about AI Agents.
A woman was writing backwards on a sheet of glass so we could read it normally. I was amazed. My wife thought it was a mirror trick.
Same scene, two totally different ways of seeing it.
It reminded me of my electrical apprenticeship test.
One part had cube shapes you had to spin in your head to match. Some guys said it was impossible. For me, it was easy — like a game.
None of this makes me “better.”
It just means I have a superpower — something that’s easy for me but hard for others. And my wife? She’s got her own stack of superpowers that I can’t even touch.
You have superpowers too. Maybe you just haven’t seen them yet.
Today, let’s talk about why hanging around people different from you can help you find your hidden superpowers — and why it might just change your life forever.
You Have Superpowers, You Just Might Not Know It
1. Different People Show You Different Worlds
When you only hang around people like you, you stay in one world.
Same ideas. Same jokes. Same problems.
It’s safe, sure. But safe is slow death if you want to grow.
When you meet people different from you, you see how big the world really is. Different cultures. Different struggles. Different solutions to the same problems.
One friend might show you a way to think about money that no one in your town talks about. Another might show you a way to deal with family stress that’s totally new to you.
It’s like adding new tools to your toolbox. When problems come up, you’re ready.
2. You Find Out What You’re Good At
Sometimes you don’t know you’re good at something until you see others struggle with it.
When I was in the apprenticeship, the cube-spinning test was easy for me. I thought everyone would crush it. But many guys struggled. That’s when I realized: “Whoa, this thing that’s easy for me is HARD for others.”
Same for you. Maybe you’re a great listener. Or you can calm people down fast. Or you spot patterns no one else sees.
You won’t notice it until you hang around people who don’t have that skill.
They’ll look at you like you’re magic.
And that’s when you start seeing yourself differently. That’s when you start winning.
3. You Get Stronger and Smarter
Being around people who are different challenges you.
- They’ll question what you believe.
- They’ll make you explain yourself.
- They’ll show you other ways to win.
At first, it can feel uncomfortable. You might even get mad.
That’s okay. Growth always starts with discomfort.
When you hang in there, you get stronger. You get smarter. You stop seeing just one way to do things. You start seeing options.
Options = Power.
The more ways you can see, the more ways you can win.
4. You Build Real Confidence
Real confidence isn’t pretending you know everything.
Real confidence is knowing you can figure it out.
When you’ve seen lots of different ways people live, think, and win, you realize there’s no “one right way” to succeed.
You stop being scared of trying new things. You stop being scared of being different.
You become the kind of man who can walk into any room, talk to any person, and handle any situation.
That’s leadership. That’s warrior energy. That’s badass energy.
And it’s built by spending time around people who aren’t just copies of you.
5. You Become Valuable
Michael Port, a great business teacher I learned from, said:
“Charge the most for what’s easiest for you.
That’s your superpower.”
Why?
Because what’s easy for you isn’t easy for everyone else.
When you know your superpowers, you can help others with them. And people pay for help they can’t get on their own.
Hanging around different people lets you spot your powers faster.
You see where others struggle. You see where you shine.
And when you lean into it, you don’t just make more money — you make more impact.
You become the man people need.
And that’s when the real doors start opening.
Putting It On the Mat
I didn’t know my ability to “see in 3D” would be a big deal.
When I was a young apprentice, crawling on steel beams and running conduit in tight spaces, I thought everyone could “see” how a pipe would run through a building just by glancing at the blueprints.
But they couldn’t.
Older guys would ask me to double-check their work. Foremen would pull me aside to sketch ideas. I was just a kid, but they trusted me because I had a skill they didn’t.
And it wasn’t because I was smarter.
It was because I could see things differently. Growing up in melting pots. Traveling. Talking to people who thought in ways I never would have on my own.
If I had only stayed around people exactly like me, I may have missed it.
Same for you.
Your superpowers are probably hidden in plain sight.
Maybe you’re the guy who can make anyone laugh.
Maybe you have insane focus when others get distracted.
Maybe you’re the one who spots the detail everyone else misses.
You won’t see it if you only hang around guys just like you. You have to mix it up. You have to stretch. You have to step into new worlds.
Putting It On the Mat:
Here’s your simple action plan:
- This week, have a real conversation with someone very different from you. Different background, different story, different way of thinking.
- Ask them about their life. Their wins. Their struggles. Listen.
- Notice what skills they have that you don’t. Notice what skills you have that they admire.
- Write it down. (Yes, actually write it.)
- Reflect: “What’s something that’s easy for me but hard for others? How can I use it to help and lead?”
Your future depends on what you do with your superpowers.
Find them. Train them. Use them.
The world’s waiting.
And we need you at your best.