If you collect anything that has the potential to have high value (classic cars, stamps, baseball cards, antiques), one lesson you have learned is that the more rare something is then it is likely to be more valuable.
When I was growing up, I collected sports cards. I always dreamed of finding a Michael Jordan rookie card. When I was still collecting it would have been worth at least $400 dollars. Today, that card would be worth over $3000 dollars (some have sold as high as $10,000). I have dozens of Michael Jordan cards in my collection (still up in my parents' attic), but none of them are rare. The difference between a common card and a rare card is thousands of dollars.
Last week I wrote about being one in a million, but I mainly talked about how unjustified fears can hold us back. Instead of talking about what the one-in-a-millions that are keeping us from success, I want to spin that and talk about the one-in-a-millions that can propel us to success. That comes from excelling, particularly in the uncommon.
Excelling in the uncommon makes you stand out. If everyone in the world knew all of the ins and outs of medicine, then we wouldn't need doctors. If everyone in the world knew computer code, then programmers and Web designers would be unnecessary. If everyone could write well, then you'd actually have something worth reading read right now instead of this...and editors would lose their jobs.
What skill or service can you offer that is one in a million? Can you use these one-in-a-million skills in your current job? I've written about this before--one of the key components of being happy in your job is being in a job you're good at. If you're not using your one-in-a-million skills, then you're not going to be happy in your job.
How do you do this? I want to give you four ideas to get you started:
1. Know Yourself. What do you enjoy doing? What are you great at? What gets you excited? Personality tests will get you started on this (I personally recommend StrengthsFinder, though it's not free), but it's going to take more than a few little tests to figure this out. My friend Bryan Thompson has a great free ebook that will get you started on this. You can download it here (it's free as long as you sign up for his e-mail list, which is definitely worth doing).
2. Keep Practicing. Yes, that Michael Jordan rookie card that I wanted is very valuable, but no one would have a clue who Michael Jordan is if he didn't practice. He is tall and naturally athletic, but he still wouldn't have become the most well-known basketball player in the world if he didn't work at it. If you're a brilliant photographer, keep at it, read photography magazines, find places to get inspiration; if you're a great musician, find new and challenging pieces to learn, join a band, try to learn other styles, listen to great musicians and figure out what makes them great; if you're a great businessman or businesswoman, keep reading and learning, find mentors, study different factors of worldwide economics. Regardless of what makes you one-in-a-million, the only thing that will make you the Michael Jordan of your trade is practice.
3. Teach Someone. I wrestled in high school. I did pretty well--I usually placed in the top three in tournaments, I made varsity two of the three years I wrestled, and I got to compete in three different countries. One of the biggest things that helped me get better at wrestling was to help others become great wrestlers. Sometimes I coached junior highers, sometimes I refereed matches, and sometimes I just encouraged underclassmen who were willing and eager to learn. If you want to be great at something you need to understand how it works, one of the best ways to assess how well you understand it is to explain it. If you can't explain how something works, then keep learning and fill in those gaps in your knowledge.
4. Apply It. If Mark Zuckerberg had accepted that he was just a gifted computer programmer, then Facebook wouldn't exist. If Michael Jordan had accepted that he was just an amazing basketball player, then he would have never made millions in the NBA. It doesn't matter what you are good at or what knowledge you have up in your brain if you don't use it. If you can't use those skills at work, find ways to incorporate them into your daily routine. If you can't use them at your job, what side income can you make with those skills (notice I didn't say quit your job right away--even brilliant people will become homeless if they don't have an income). Do you have opportunities to turn that into a new career someday? Having a one-in-a-million skill but not using it, is like an enormous diamond that has never been mined. It won't do anyone any good until it can be used.
