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by Jayaram V
This is the age of knowledge and information. This is the age
of expertise and specialization. What would you prefer, a
million dollars with no intelligence or a brilliant mind a with
a million hopes, ideas and aspirations? The Facebook founder
received a billion dollar offer few years ago to part with his
company. A billion dollars was a lot of money for a young man
who did not have even a thousand dollars a few years earlier to
start his company; but he rejected the offer because he had a
brilliant mind filled with a vast vision which he knew would
take him far beyond anyone's imagination. If you have the vision
and the willingness to make it real, you will eventually reach
your goals and realize your dreams. You can be part of that
little group of exceptional people who make a difference in the
world with their knowledge and ideas. It does not
matter in what area you specialize. If you have specialized
knowledge or expertise in some professional field, you will
increase your value and your chances of success.
Life upon earth
is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge and enrich your
experience. Many people do not make use of it. They spend
valuable time in cheap entertainment or frivolous matters. Few
hours ago, over two
billion people watched the marriage of prince
Williams and Kate Middleton. Collectively one fourth of the
humanity spent two billion
to five billion man hours in watching the wedding of two people
whom they would never meet in person. Perhaps they will waster another 100
billion hours in the next few weeks and months trying to know how the newly
married royal couple are doing, what clothes they are wearing or
how many kisses they have exchanged in public view. This is just an example of how
people
waste precious moments, opportunities and resources, without even knowing
it. You do not have to graduate from Harvard or Oxford to
become an expert in any field. Let us not forget that the
world's most renowned and knowledgeable people originally came
from poor and middle class families and relatively unknown
schools and colleges. Frankly, you do not even require
education to be successful in this world. Some of the world's greatest people were illiterate
or semi literate. Akbar, the Mughal Emperor, for example, was an
illiterate person; but he excelled as a king and administrator.
Have you ever noticed who are the most sought after people in
society, in a work place or a profession? Apart from good
looking people and celebrities, with whom society is always
infatuated, it is usually the ones who are known for their
knowledge and expertise in a particular field and who have ability
to solve any problem or deal with any crisis. People go to them because they are reliable
and dependable in difficult times. They do not mind to spend
precious money or time to meet them or or seek their advice.
Organizations are willing to spend huge amounts of money to hire
them or retain them because in a competitive environment they
can make a huge difference. Here is how you can join this group
of rare individuals and earn a distinction for yourself in your
chosen field.
1. Identify the key area in which you want to become an
expert. In each field there are specific areas of expertise and
each requires a specific set of skills and knowledge. Choose the
one that appeals to you most or for which you think you have the
passion. Think of the motivation or why you want to develop
expertise in that particular area and make sure that your
decision is not based on whim or the need to seek the approval
of others. If you want to become an expert in some area, it must
be to actualize your dreams and aspirations, not to win the
approval of others.
2. Do some study and analysis to find out what you need to do
to develop the expertise and the necessary skills. Spend some
time gathering information to know how you may reach your goals.
Find a few people who are known to
be experts in that area. If possible meet them personally; or gather information about them
by reading books and magazines or meeting people who know them
personally. Find out what makes them
unique. Create a mental picture of the person you want to be.
Write it down. This is your dream picture of the person you want
to carve out of your life through hard work and determination.
3. Prepare an action plan in writing, with goals and sub goals
to acquire the knowledge
and skills you need to become an expert. Specify clearly in what
timeframe you want to accomplish them and what specific actions
you might need to reach them. Perhaps you have to join a college, study books or
train for sometime under the guidance of an expert in the field. Think of all
the possibilities and opportunities, how you can make use of
your strengths and how you can resolve the problems arising from
your weaknesses.
4. Implement your action plan with complete resolve. This is
the most important part of the whole project. Here the
motivation has to come entirely from within and you have to rely
upon none but yourself during moments of self-doubt and
negativity. In such moments, keep returning to the picture you
developed in step 2 to refocus and energize yourself. Remember,
depending upon how you deal with yourself and your thoughts, you
can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Do not
rest till you feel comfortable with your knowledge and
expertise. Seek other people's opinion about the progress you
are making. Join a professional club or association to see how
others in the field are doing. Keep reading and improving your
knowledge.
5. Keep learning. Keep improving. Keep practicing. Keep an
open mind. Do not hesitate to learn from everyone and every
situation. Never miss an opportunity to open your mind to new
ideas and thoughts. Learning
is a lifelong commitment. The more you learn and practice, the
more skillful you become. There is no end to what you can learn
or know. There is no limit to the knowledge you can
acquire or the expertise you can gain. Push your limits to the
extent possible by competing against yourself.
6. Practice humility and virtue. Be on the right side
of things. Your knowledge and expertise should not make you arrogant,
prejudiced, opinionated, cynical, or snobbish. Integrity,
honesty are important virtues in every field. Use your knowledge
and skills for right purposes and right ends. The more you know,
the greater is your responsibility towards others and the world
in general. Do not feel frustrated if you do not get immediate
recognition. No one can stop the fragrance of a flower from
spreading in all directions. So is the case with
your talent and expertise. When your time comes, they reveal
themselves, despite the people who may not be happy to see you
successful.
Self-reliance, self-confidence, determination, positive
mental attitude, courage, integrity, clarity of thought and
purpose, specific goals, self-discipline are some of the
valuable resources which you can use in life to learn anything
you want and become anything you want. If you set your mind upon
a particular goal and work for it assiduously, you are bound to
achieve it, no matter the obstacles and the difficulties. To
reach your goal of becoming an expert, you must be willing to
change yourself and invest enough time and energy to be where you want to
be. If you are determined to be part of the top ten percent
successful people in a chosen area and willing to give your best,
nothing on earth can stop you. Find your passion. Find your
strengths. Integrate them nicely around your achievable goals,
by reaching which you will not only realize your life's dreams and feel
worthy and useful to yourself and others but also set an example
for others to follow. Decide to be the best and become one.
Suggested Further Reading
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