In my book I set out what I believe are four truths about this hyperconnected work era. Those truths are:
■ Everyone is an expert
■ College degrees can be bypassed
■ Anyone can start a company—anywhere
■ Meritocracy is BS
Everyone can CLAIM to be an expert – the path to expertise doesn’t necessarily come with a certificate or traditional degree anymore. The point is the rules have changed – which can be confusing if you’ve grown up digital first and are now being smacked with IRL realities of making connections at college and applying for jobs with a paper resume.
Here’s the bottom line with those four truths: there’s a massive upside to how the hyperconnected world connects – if and when we choose to take control of what it is we want to achieve.
Control. If you’re a student you might think you have absolutely NO control in your life at this point in time. But there has to be something you control! What can you control in your studies and ultimately in your career? You can control how you contribute, how you work alongside others, how you show up and engage, how you approach learning a new subject or mastering a skill. Why does this matter? Pulling again from my book: “it’s not a question of what you know or who you know but rather who knows what you know that tips the balance.”
Who knows if you’re a good teammate? Who knows what you’re interested in? Who knows if you have focus, drive, ambition? Any one have an inkling of your talents? Who knows what you know?
Keep this in mind whether you’re heading to class or posting on social.
And yes, as I’ve shared previously that I live my own advice. Daily.
Pulling from page 99 of Build Your Dream Network, I didn’t fully take control of my networking expertise “…until 2013, when some self-proclaimed networking experts started tapping into my ideas for their projects and presentations. That told me it was time to proactively claim my expertise in blogs, on panels, in my bio, and anywhere else I could think of! Time to not merely nod politely when someone acknowledged my superconnector status but to give my network the content to prove it and the links to share it.“
IF I can give YOU the benefit of my career hindsight it is this: own your expertise. Sooner rather than later! Be brave! Claim it! Own it! Don’t wait to put your stamp on what you are working hard towards. Don’t hide your talent.. Claim it by sharing it.
