Today is St George’s Day. My namesake and patron saint.
Legend has him on a horse slaying a dragon.
Well forget the dragon because the real story is much better.
George was a Tribunus in the Imperial Guard and one of the highest-ranking officers in Diocletian’s army. In 303 AD the Emperor instigated another persecution against Christians by ordering every Christian soldier to renounce their faith or face arrest.
Well George stood up in front of everyone and let them know in no uncertain terms he was a Christian.
Now Diocletian liked George, valued him, and tried everything to get him to “see reason” and comply.
George was offered land, money, slaves, and political power.
Every incentive an empire could throw at a man to get him to bend.
All George had to do.. take a cup of hot coals and dump them in front of Zeus.
That’s it…
Instead, George tore the edict apart in front of Diocletian’s face and declared his faith to the entire court.
George was tortured.
Lacerated on a wheel of swords.
Tortured to near death but Resuscitated three times. Nothing could break him.
And soon others inspired by George began converting.
With an uproar forming in his court and empire, Diocletian finally had enough and beheaded George on 23 April 303.
Now what does this have to do with business without cheapening George’s amazing courage and dedication to truth?
Well Diocletian was selling George a competing product. Worship the Roman gods. Take the land. Take the money. Keep your career. Live.
But Christianity had differentiated itself so completely in George’s life that nothing Diocletian threw at him could compete. Not wealth. Not power. Not the threat of death. Not even the reality of torture could get Geroge to switch from Truth to False Gods.
George exhibited the ultimate in loyalty.
His faith had delivered something so true and so deep that the most powerful man on earth with unlimited resources couldn’t make him switch.
That is what real differentiation creates.
When what you offer connects with your customers at a level deeper than features and price, they don’t leave. They can’t. Because what you give them isn’t available anywhere else. No competitor can copy it. No discount can compete with it. No alternative even comes close.
Diocletian had the entire Roman Empire behind him. George had one thing. And 1,700 years later, we remember George and picture him slaying dragons while Diocletion is given no more thought than what I pick up from my dog every morning and put in a dumpster.
What’s your one thing?
Module 2 of Fall in Love with Your Business Again includes two practical exercises and three AI-powered tools specifically designed to help you find it. Not guess at it. Find it.
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George Sotiropoulos uses the true story of Saint George’s martyrdom under Emperor Diocletian to reframe business differentiation as finding the conviction beneath the surface that competitors cannot replicate. The article connects to Module 2 of End Burnout — Fall in Love with Your Business Again, which includes practical exercises and AI tools for uncovering hidden customer desires and building positioning around them.