Your hard work, degrees, scientific papers, awards, expertise, and years of reputation in your industry will matter less and less as things change. With tens of millions of jobs becoming obsolete in the next decade or so, this is the hard truth:
No one cares about your CV. Especially the algorithm most companies use as the doorman before a human being even takes a look at what you have to offer.
In the words of Michael Corleone in The Godfather - “It’s not personal. It’s just business.”
As the world changes in ways we have not experienced in our lifetime, a different set of skills can propel you into a prosperous future regardless of age, industry, or starting point.
There is good news in an otherwise uncertain future - these skills are abundantly available to anyone who cares to invest the time and energy to learn them.
We’ll take a deeper dive into this in my next free webinar:
Reinvent & Recalibrate your Career: Strategies and Success Stories.
Saturday, March 9th, at noon Central Time. Spots are limited. I’ll announce special guests a bit closer to the date.
Our last webinar had over 110 registered from all over the world. The lively Q&A Session was so lively that it went long. Brandon Knicely and John Hoyt brought great insights and angles to the discussion.
There are many people with similar education, experience, and talent levels as you, but there is only one of you. You have a unique genetic code, a unique life, a unique assignment, and a mission.
Do you believe that?
Before you dismiss this as a romanticized view of life and tell me to calm down, I will make my case very briefly.
Think of the successful professional you admire. It can be an iconic figure or a respected industry leader.
You probably see a level of success in their lives that is 10X compared to yours or more. My question is this: Do you believe this person is 10X times smarter, more hardworking, and talented than you are?
I present that the difference between you and him or her is due to their beliefs about themselves, the world, and their mission, among other things. In other words - they have faith. That faith has accelerated, amplified, and multiplied their resources for decades.
Faith is the differentiator.
What does this have to do with the changing landscape in the marketplace?
Everything. That is the good news.
You no longer have to fit in, ask permission, or become a cog in a machine to be successful. In an ultra-connected global market of products and services, what matters the most is being, in the words of Seth Godin, “a meaningful specific, not a wandering generality.”
You don’t have to impress an algorithm or work at a large organization. You need to be able to solve a specific problem and offer the solution to the people looking for exactly what you have to offer. To even begin to move in that direction and tap into the massive opportunity this offers, you have to develop faith.
Faith is a Meta Skill - a higher-order skill that amplifies and accelerates other skills. The Meta Skills of iconic heroes in Scripture have inspired us for millennia.
David did not have 10X the skills of a whole army of Israelites being intimidated by one giant - Goliath.
Joseph did not have 10X the skills of his brothers before becoming second in command of the greatest world power at the time - Egypt.
The Apostles did not have 10x the skills of the Teachers of the Law and Pharisees before leading the Jesus movement.
Their resumes did not indicate who they were and the impact they would have. It was noted in Scripture that David was the last person anyone thought would make the difference, Joseph was the brother sold into slavery, and the Apostles were ordinary and unschooled men. Their success was faith-fueled. Pure and simple.
I explore this further and how it applies to your professional life in this episode of Headspace. Enjoy.
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We’re launching a new experiment. In addition to the weekly Headspace episode airing every Sunday around noon, I’m starting a weekly livestream on YouTube called Headspace Live on Wednesdays at noon central time. We’ll discuss trending topics and have an expert from an area of interest chiming in. Tune in, leave comments, and post questions. It should be fun.