Define Your Purpose for Becoming an Expert
You need a purpose. As we’ve talked about already, you can’t just decide to become an expert for no reason.
The dedication and follow-through is what sets true experts apart from everyone else. Those who will never follow through will never achieve a level where they can consider themselves to be an “expert.” Those people might try to take the easy way out— to “fake it until they make it.”
That’s not what you want to do, of course. This is a journey you’re excited to be on. You know that becoming an expert is going to change your life in incredible ways. This is a decision that’s going to serve you extremely well in more ways than one.
You need to have your purpose at the top of your mind.
Are you in this because it will help you start or further your business? Experts are often paid more highly than others. Experts know all the ins and outs of a topic and stand out in the competition. Your expertise can help open doors for you to earn more money and make more of an impact in your space.
Are you in this because you want to further your career? Experts are promoted and given better positions than those who haven’t achieved a certain level of expertise. If you want to promote, make more money, and get more respect in the workplace, then you really have to work on what you know and how you present yourself.
Do you want to become an expert to help people? Experts can really give back to other people. You can use your expertise to help make life better or easier for other people.
Do you want to become an expert to change something in your life? It may be that you have certain hobbies, goals, and aspirations that you can’t make work until you are an expert.
What is your purpose? What’s going to drive you?
Becoming an expert can better your business or improve your value in the workplace. Becoming an expert can help you help yourself and others. What do you really hope will come from this?
You need to figure out your short term goals. Your first short term expert plan will take place over the next 30 days— I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to know. What do you want to have achieved over the next 30 days? What level of expertise do you want to have reached?
You also need to figure out your long term goals. What do you want to achieve over the next year, 5 years, 10 years, and more? How will becoming an expert on your topic help you?
Or is becoming an expert in a particular area just something that you want for now, and not to make a lifelong crusade? That’s OK, it might be something you want to develop expertise on for the purpose of writing a book or creating a product or teaching a course and then you might not need to go any further. Some people become “temporary” experts on single subjects, and then move on to other skills that they wish to master. Is that what you want, or do you want to evolve your expertise about a single subject for the long term?
Determine how developing your expertise fits into this and come up with a plan. You need to know what you’re aiming for and exactly how you’re going to get there.
Will you read on your topic every day? Will you study under another expert? Brainstorm your plans, now.
Do you want to sell in the field? Do you want to start or grow a business? Do you want people to hire you as a teacher, coach, or mentor? Do you want to consult or speak? What is it, very specifically, that you want to gain from being an expert?
As an expert, you want to get more out of life. You’ve asked and answered a lot of questions about your plans at this point. It’s all designed to help you get the best possible start. Go out there and make it happen!
Please don’t just skim over this section. Really think on it and write your reflections down. It’s important to write your goals down and revisit them on a regular basis. If you know why you’re doing this, you’ll be a lot more likely to follow through.
If you don’t have a well thought out purpose for becoming an expert, then you probably won’t follow through. If you have a well thought out purpose and a solid set of specific goals, then you probably will follow through and succeed. I know which option is more appealing to me— now it’s your turn.