Tapping Into Your Inner Expert

“An expert is a man [or woman] who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” – — Niels Henrik David Bohr

You’re an expert. Yep, you. If you’re reading this right now then I guarantee you’re an expert at something.

Maybe you already knew that. If so, congrats. You’re ahead of most of the population.

Many people think that they are not EXCELLENT at any one thing. Maybe they know they’re good at a few things but they definitely don’t consider themselves experts.

Well, most people (again) are WRONG.

You are an expert at something.

I recently participated in a webinar/Q & A with author Tim Ferriss. He coined the term lifestyle design, wrote the book “The Four Hour Workweek” and helps people build their businesses with mobility in mind.

He often recommends that people define themselves as an expert in ONE arena and run with it. Come out with some information products, sell products, and set themselves up for the coveted four hour work week.

However, many people, can’t think of anything that they are experts at.

Tim offers this suggestion: “Ask yourself: What makes me weird?”

Seriously, what makes you weird? Do you like birdhouses? Synchronized swimming? Building birdhouses whiel synchonized swimming?

Maybe what makes you weird isn’t even that weird at all. Are you really good at snowboarding and like to do yoga? Well, maybe you’re an expert at yoga positions for snowboarders. Sound weird enough to you?

Here’s your homework: Make a list of all the stuff that you enjoy doing. Then rate each item on the list on a scale of 1 – 5. 5 being “I’m really really good at this” and 1 being “Just a hobby”. Then when you’re finished take a look at the list and circle everything that you listed as a 3 or better.

If you think hard enough, you should be able to figure out that you’re an expert in SOMETHING. If not, put the list away and look at it again in a few days. I guarantee that if nothing else, this exercise will get you thinking about yourself and the value that you could offer the world if you’d only tap into it.