Mostly like me, you chose your career in a daze. Only to realize some years later that there was no passion.
If we were to do it all over again, or plan for the future, how would we choose our careers? Tell three stories.
Skill Stacking
When it comes to career planning, Navalhighly esteemedA piece by cartoonist Scott Adams called “Career advice“Article.
In the article, Scott begins by listing two paths that ordinary people take to achieve extraordinary things:
- Being at the top of your game in a particular field.
- Achievement of comparative excellence in two or more areas (top 25%).
The first is difficult because you need to outperform all your peers, so Scott chose the second:
The second strategy is relatively easy to achieve. Everyone can be in the top 25% in several areas if they work hard. Take me for example, I can draw better than most, but I’m not considered an artist. I don’t have a better sense of humor than stand-up comedians who didn’t make it to fame either, but it’s funnier than the average person. The amazing thing is that very few people can draw and write jokes at the same time. It’s the combination of these two skills that makes my work so unique. When coupled with my business background, suddenly I’ve found a subject matter – an area that most cartoonists would struggle to understand without first-hand experience.
So, stack two or more skills, take a different approach, develop your own style, and do what only you can do – that’s Scott’s career advice. Going back to our opening question, how do you combine this advice and at the same time find a job that interests you?Scott goes on to give more specific advice:
At least one of your skill sets should be about communication, either written or verbal. This can be as simple as learning to sell better than 75% of the population. That’s the first skill. Then add to that where your passion lies, and that brings us to the second skill, because that’s the area where you’ll easily invest enough effort to get to the top 25% level. If you have a talent in a third area, like business or public speaking, then develop that as well.
Communication skills + your passion are the skills you need to stack. If you don’t know where your passion lies yet, you can never go wrong by working on writing, speaking, and sales first.
You don’t have a dedication problem.
Not long ago, I hadSeriously questioned my dedication., in fact, such thoughts have been with me throughout my career.
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