work
http://tuckermax.me/dont-look-for-talent-find-people-who-do-things
But having those skills alone is NOT enough. You must actually use them to do actual things that matter to other people. Literally ask yourself, “What can I do?” but follow it up with “Where is the proof?” If you can’t find proof of a skill you think you have, then you don’t have that skill.
Do you know how many people tell me they want to be a writer? Tens of thousands. Want to guess how many have written anything? About 10%. And even of that 10% who’ve just written ANYTHING AT ALL, want to guess how many have put in more than a half-assed effort? Like, maybe .01%. [This is mainly because most people don’t care about writing, they just want to be a writer, which is a totally different issue I’ll address in a different post].
That’s ultimately what life is: Solving problems. How the fuck can you solve problems without the skills necessary? You can’t. And how can anyone else know you have those skills, until you’ve proven it? They can’t. And what does all of this take? Some work.
About The Author
What is that from, sir?
Oops – my bad! HTML problems cut off the URL. Added now.
Thank you.
Rereading this 9 hours later I still think it is a great summary of how I screwed up my life and “plans”. For the areas that I didn’t do this, I have failed to make an impact. For the areas that I did this, I have succeeded and had an impact. Foolishly simple, really. Sure there are “reasons” that are not just rationalizations, sure there is baggage and history, but in the end that formula is what matters.
It’s almost too simplistic, but its absolute true. I should frame this an put it on my kids wall.