Would being an expert in something of importance mean something to you?
Would it help you in your job? Would it help you in your personal life?
Would it help you in reaching your long-term goals?
My guess is you would answer “Yes!” to each of the questions.
If being an expert is something that would be important to you, why aren’t you doing it? Most likely it’s because of time (or rather, the lack thereof).
I get it. I understand that feeling, but let’s look at what it means to be an expert.
Does being an expert mean knowing everything there is to know about something or does it mean knowing more than everyone else you could potentially come in contact with?
My argument is if we view being an expert as merely knowing more than everyone else we come in contact with, then the goal of becoming an expert is within reach.
Now that we have the goal within reach, let’s now figure out how to achieve it.
A number of books have been written and studies conducted on what it takes to become an expert. There are plenty of arguments that say it takes 10,000 hours of concentrated study or whatever.
Sorry, I don’t have 10,000 hours and you probably don’t either — that is, unless the expertise you’re looking to master is nuclear engineering, brain surgery, etc.
Most likely the expert you’re looking to be is someone who understands a specific part of your industry or how to optimize a computer program or any other more typical goal we may set for ourselves.
To achieve this level of expertise, the only thing it’s going to take is 15 – 30 minutes per day, every day, for six months to a year.
Think about this. If you were to commit 30 minutes a day reading about a specific topic for a year, don’t you think you would most likely end up knowing more than most people you come in contact with? Chances are you would. Now if you continued doing that for two years, you would in nearly all situations have attained that “expert” level as we defined it earlier.
Sure, the specific amount of time is going to vary, but the process is the same — 15-30 minutes a day of dedicated time will get you to the level of being viewed as the expert.
Is it worth it?
I will argue yes, and for one simple reason. Remaining average is simply not acceptable if your goal is to succeed and make a difference.
Unless you’re willing to dedicate 15-30 minutes a day, then what you’re saying is you’re content remaining average. The choice is yours. How will you spend your time today?
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
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