Own your expertise

- I've interviewed a lot of experts out there, and I've coached a lot of people who want to become an expert and the thing that I hear from both sides is, how do you become an expert in your industry? I got news for you. You already are an expert. Get over what others are doing and focus on what you're doing. Why? Because you're already an expert. Think about it, there's only one of you out there. You already have a profession. You are likely being paid for it if you're working for an employer or you run a business. So again, know that you're already an expert. It's not about, am I an expert? It's about figuring out what can I showcase my expertise in? And get over that idea that you're not an expert. So the first thing I'd like you to do is grab a piece of paper and I want you to write down three things professionally that you feel you are an expert in. Some of these things can be, am I a specialist in marketing? Am I a good writer? Am I good at video editing? Have I raised money before? These are examples of traits that you have to make yourself an expert. And if you want to write more than three, that's fine, but at minimum, write down three things. And I want you to think about some of these questions. What do people come to you to ask you for help on? What are things that other people think that you're good at? What do you feel you really know well? What are some skills sets, certifications or education that you have that others don't have? What are some specific experience or education that you have? And finally, what is a top trait that your coworkers, even your boss would say about you if they are asked, what are you an expert in? So at the end of the day, understand you already are an expert. You have experience that's unique to you. You've built great credentials that others would like to learn from. Your job now is to leverage all of this and showcase it to the world so that you can truly stand out and be an expert and achieve more success with your profession.