Accumulate Skills To Achieve Greatness
Don’t Waste Opportunities to Gain Skills That Will Help You Reach Your Goals
I’ve always been obsessed with learning, but the truth is, not all learning is skills based. Sometimes learning is just for fun. As an example, I’m an a big reader and 99.9% of what I read is non-fiction. Although I’ll occasionally slip in a novel here or there (mainly just my favorite fiction authors like Paulo Coelho, Mitch Albom, and Andy Weir) because I love a good captivating story, I prefer to read biographies of outsized historical figures. I love history, so that’s a plus, but I also get to learn as I read these captivating stories. My point here is, sometimes you’re learning something but it’s just for the sake of learning it. It’s entertainment, not training.
The reason I mention this is because there are things you’re likely doing in your life (at work, at school, at home) that are things you just have to do. If you have a big goal set for yourself that you want to achieve, you should take every opportunity to acquire the skills you need (or that will just be useful) in achieving your goal (or being better prepared once you’re executing your goal).
Don’t Waste Opportunities At Work
Maybe you’re working towards starting your own business. You just need to save up some money and work on that business plan. So, you have an entry-level job (or maybe high level but you’re shifting careers/industries) and you’re just biding your time until you can resign and get going. Well, two things, first off don’t waste time just going through the motions of your job. Figure out what in your existing role has the potential to add value when you start your new business. Invest intentional energy in learning the job skills. Assessing and analyzing the company’s methods for training you and overseeing your work.
If you’re planning to own your own business or reach higher levels of management, you’re getting a first-hand experience in how one successful company runs their process. Learn from it, but build a skill and think about how that skill will be useful later.
Find the Right Place To Build Skills
The second thing is, don’t take a job that will teach you skills that aren’t aligned with your long-term goals. If you want to be a Physical Therapist after you get your schooling done, don’t take a job as a waitress or waiter. Sure, the social life at a restaurant is fun. You get to meet other people and maybe gain some skills. But are those skills going to make you a better Physical Therapist? Probably not. So figure out what job will give you skills that will benefit you down the road in achieving that goal.
Maybe work the front desk at a Physical Therapist office, or in a gym. Maybe work in an athletic department at a school. Or even a job at a sporting goods store is more aligned than the restaurant. Again, you’re trying to gain skills that will get you closer to your goal. And make you more prepared for it when you get there.
Don’t Just Work For A Paycheck
I managed a business that at one point had up to 135 employees under my direct supervision. I would hear so many people say “This is just a transitionary job for me. I’m going to graduate soon and be a [fill in the blank with any advanced position or credentialed profession]. What’s the point in investing energy in trying to be the best if I can just do well enough to keep my job and get paid.” I always felt bad for them, because I’m fortunate enough to be doing the job I ventured out to do when I graduated high school. But I never missed an opportunity to make sure I was absolutely ready to do what I do.
Each job I had on my journey to owning my own business offered me ample opportunity to pick up specific skills that I use even to this day.
Whether that was; building amazing training programs like the ones I experienced as an employee at Starbucks, or the fact that they build their stores for consistency and now when I scale a business I follow many of the lessons I learned about their business strategy. (Starbucks is one of my favorite companies when it comes to operations management, organizational leadership, and overall business strategy.) I also picked up great sales and customer service skills at a sales job. Which also taught me about call center systems, quality control, and customer relations. Again, all skills I still use today.
Ultimately, you’re going to get paid to do the job either way (skills development or not) so why not learn from a company that’s already doing it (and presumably successfully if they’re hiring) and build skills to help you achieve your goals? Forget about your Friday night drinks after your shift at Shenanigans, or taking that gardening elective to meet your course credit requirement. Take the job or the class that will teach the skills that will help you meet your goals, not just to pay the rent.
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