Stop Waiting to Be Picked
By: Thomas Oppong
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Work, Productivity, Life, Life Lessons

“Never have your happiness dependent on a yes or no decision from one person.” ― James Altucher

Today, there are more ways than ever to pick yourself and show your work. Far easier to have someone notice your creative work. And if you’re driven and focused, you may discover that the market loves what you do. That people come back for more of what you have to share or say.

That’s how you build public reputation. A good or even great one. You can become the best in the world at something that people value. But, alas, that doesn’t mean you can monetize it…yet.

Seth Godin explains it better:

“What pick yourself means is that it’s never been easier to decide to be responsible for your own work, for your own agenda, for the change you make in the world. To have a chance to matter. Not to be finished right now, but starting now. Pick yourself means we should stop waiting and whining and stalling. The outcome is still in doubt, but it’s clear that waiting just doesn’t pay.”

It matters that you pick yourself

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many gifted people are playing it small and not getting their message out there or benefiting from what they are good at. You have unique gift and the world needs to know about it.

You can be as big and successful as you can possibly imagine. You just don’t trust yourself enough yet. No matter who you are or what you dream of becoming, remember this: No one ever came to this planet to take a back seat, play second fiddle or make it small.

You have everything you need to make an impact in the world. You don’t even have to start your own business. What you need is something you can you can emotionally and deeply connect with. Don’t think too far into the future. Use what you have right now at where you are and witness the magic of creative work. If you’re thinking about it too much, chances are you’re killing it.

Everybody is good at something!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” — Dr. Seuss

The good news for you is that you know something or better still you are good at something. You know it, your friends and colleagues know that. You have been ignoring that side of you for far too long. You can do something about it and make it your business. It may not necessarily be your passion.

It could be something you have studied for a while and you can easily identify yourself as an expert in that if you work at it. People have lots of questions and you probably know most of the answers already. It doesn’t have to be comprehensive processes or steps. You don’t even have to leave your present job to make a meaninful addition to creative work.

Figure out how to create value

“The more people you help and the more value you create, the more your business will fly — and the quicker you’ll win. “— Robin S. Sharma

You may not be where you want to be right now but if you are at least trying you are better off than everyone else who isn’t trying, moving or making progress. Somewhere inside you is something special. You just need the courage to let it out.

A lot more people can benefit from your ideas, talent or skill. You are probably more smarter than you are being paid for right now. You don’t need a fancy office to put relevant stuff that means a lot to you online. You are good to show your work right now. And you don’t need permission to start showing your work.

What most people don’t realize is that there aren’t a lot of experts in the world. If you choose to focus on the thing you love to do or give it a little more time, you can become an expert at it. If you can become an expert at it, you could do it for a living at some point in your life. And the fulfilment that follows is magical.

It won’t happen right at the beginning. You will probably suck at it in the beginning but you will get better with time. Practice is the key word. It’s easier to transform your passion into your job than finding a job that matches your what you love to do. Your art, creation, product, message or what you choose to share can make a huge difference in many people’s lives across the globe.

What you can consistently do

“Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time.” — Bruce Springsteen

You can host webinars, write weekly posts, join an expert group, start a YouTube channel to teach people what you know or even put your ideas in an ebook. There are way too may options for everyone right now. And the resources you need are mostly free and available online. Whatever you choose to do, there are resources out there that can help you achieve your goals in simple steps. It doesn’t have to be anything hard. You can start small and scale or you can even choose to be small but consistent.

Curiosity makes creatives feel alive. You probably have certain ideas you have been thinking about for a long time now. There is no opportune moment than now to show your work. You won’t be an instant millionaire, but with time you will become an expert people will depend on for educative and consistent information, education or entertainment.

Choose a topic you deeply care about!

“I care deeply about craft: the quality of how something is made and the experience it enables.” — Kevin Systrom

You can quickly become an expert one thing you deeply care about. Choosing your life’s work is akin to choosing a passion in life — sometimes it chooses you more than you choose it.

First, choose to teach others a topic that you already find fascinating and already love to learn about. If you find yourself always buying and reading finance books, then there is a hint: finance may be your topic. What is it that you love to do?Those are great starting points for the process of choosing meaningful work

What can others learn from your struggles? Consider what you have been through in life. Have you had a turning point worth sharing, a triumph worth knowing, or a tragedy that makes you say, “Wow, I struggled through something important, and now I want to teach others so that I can minimize their struggles. These are all signs of what you can do or become an expert at. Scratch your own itch and teach others how to effectively do it too.

Love the process!

“Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. It is a process; it’s not random.” — Ken Robinson

If you are not ready yet, you can learn to get better at anything you want. Learn it, master it, share it, become known for it, and you can possbily become an expert and even be paid for it. If you are going to build a real empire, you need to pick one topic, idea, or a craft you connect with emotionally.

You need to love the process. Everyone wants the outcome, but the process matters even more. The greatest impediment to creativity is impatience, the almost inevitable desire to hurry up the process, express something, and make a splash. Learn to write persuasively, to understand new technologies, to bring out the best in your yourself, to find underused resources and to spot patterns. It gets good with time.

You can still start today and still make an impact. All you need to do is show up to write a post, write a book, share a video, host a webinar or sell a product. And be consistent. Seth Godin has shown up everyday for the past 10 years. He is a global authority on marketing, how ideas spread, post-industrial revolution, and changing everything. Authority comes from consistent generosity. It comes from showing up. It comes from telling your truth and consistently sharing your point of view.

Choose your audience and start serving!

Who do you want to serve? Who do you ultimately want to serve most in your new career. Do you want to help youth, parents, women, men, retirees, businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs — who, exactly, is your target audience? Once you have a demographic in mind, you can go ahead and make that impact they expect. Start doing what you choose to serve every day. Awesome things will start to happen. You wouldn’t believe how attractive you become to the world once you start serving.

What information or art do you possess that can be refreshed, repackaged, remodeled, reinvented and rebranded? And when you decide to choose a platform to serve your audience, consider what they read, where they go, who they spend time with, and what they value. That platform could become your greatest asset in the future.

Choose to be your authentic self, let go of who you think you should be to be who you are. Choose to create and share your work everyday. You are the only one who can push yourself a little further to start, create, share or publish.

Welcome to feeling fully alive. Good luck.

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