“What do you think it is that makes someone unmistakable?”

This is a question Srini Rao, host of The Unmistakable Creative, closes each of his podcasts episodes with.

From happiness researchers to peak performance psychologists and from best-selling authors to successful entrepreneurs, Srini Rao has interviewed over 500 thought leaders, each with their own unique answer.

The following are 17 of the best replies to that question…

1. Derek Sivers, Entrepreneur

“To be unmistakable is to be clear and unambiguous in your head, and to live in accordance with your beliefs.”

2. Geoff Colvin, Author of The Talent Code

“It’s not always that easy in the modern world, but to be unmistakable, is to be relentlessly yourself. It’s the easiest way I know for anybody – and maybe the only way – for anybody to be unmistakable.”

3. Jon Acuff, New York Times Best-Selling Author

“I think to be unmistakable is to live out who you are in all your uniqueness and use the gifts you were given. It’s the bravery to march into the deep forest of who you are and be that person.”

4. Justine Musk, Author

“When you can identify your talent and master the skillset that will allow you to put it out into the world, and to serve other people, that’s unmistakable”.

5. Tim Ferriss, Author, Entrepreneur, Angel Investor

“Something that makes someone unmistakable is being different and not just better. Part of doing that is knowing yourself and being true to yourself. Be that weird person which is yourself. Embrace the things that make you unique, even if you might view them as weaknesses”.

6. Ryan Holiday, Author, Writer, and Marketer

“What makes someone unmistakable? When someone is truly themselves, rather than what they think everyone wants them to be. It’s the amount of time and energy they focus exclusively on asking themselves, ‘What’s important to me?’ ‘Who do I want to be?’ and, ‘What was I put on this earth to do?”

7. Seth Godin, Author, Entrepreneur, Marketer and Speaker

“The path to become unmistakable is the willingness to be wrong, to be criticized and most of all, to matter. And if you’re willing to do something that matters, you are likely to be in the minority – and it probably means you’re doing something that’s unmistakable.”

8. Dani Shapiro, Novelist 

“To be unmistakable is to persist and to honor one’s gift. To understand that to have a gift is a precious thing. To nurture it and to give it the time and space that it needs, and to not get all caught up in the nosiness of the rest of the world.”

9. Clay Hebert, Entrepreneur, Marketer and Crowdfunder 

“We live in a time now when literally everything is in front of us and we have all the opportunity in the world. Being unmistakable is about grabbing that possibility and acting with intention; it’s about waking up every day and building your dreams; it’s about being intentional with how you live your life, how you do your work and how you connect people.”

10. Charlie Hoehn, Entrepreneur and Author 

“I think it starts from reaching your most inner self, from working on being your most authentic self, from being open, honest and vulnerable.”

11. Noah Kagan, Internet Entrepreneur

“If you want to be unmistakable, do something that makes you uncomfortable. When you actually go forward with it, people start recognising you.”

12. Tucker Max, Author and Public Speaker

“Don’t worry about being original; worry about being really authentic and really vulnerable, and really getting to the deep honest truth of what you’re afraid of. If you’re afraid of this truth, my guess is there are millions of other people who are just as afraid as you are. And if you get up and say it, then they are going to love you because you had the courage to say what they were trying to say themselves.You gave voice to something in them that was important to them. That’s how you make yourself unmistakable.”

13. Gary W. Goldstein, Producer

“I think what makes you unmistakable is speaking your truth. I think if you do that fairly consistently and make it a habit, you become unmistakable, you become memorable and you become an experience for everyone you come in contact with”.

14. Jayson Gaignard, Entrepreneur

“To be unmistakable is to be aware of what your strengths are, of what your weaknesses are, and where you allocate your time. It’s to be aware of what truly matters to you.”

15. Jonathan Fields, Entrepreneur

“To be unmistakable is to have a willingness to reveal the essence of who you are, and to lean into the process of craft long enough to develop a truly distinct voice.”

16. Jordan Harbinger, Founder of The Art of Charm Podcast

“There’s something about building for others and for me, being unmistakable means assembling all of the greatest knowledge you can into one place and making sacrifices to do that every day.”

17. Jessica Hagy, Cartoonist

“Someone is unmistakable when they’re not trying to be somebody else, but they have something on the inside that they just have to get out. You can’t miss that. If it’s got feeling, people are going to love it.”

Do you agree with this list? What do you think makes someone unmistakable? Leave your comments below, I’d love to hear from you.