GYMH 63 The Journey from Talent to Craft

When you think of a craftsperson, what comes to mind? Probably someone who is very skilled and very talented, but who has taken that skill to a level that differentiates them and makes them stand out. Michael looks at expertise entrepreneurship through the lens of craftsmanship and getting beyond relying on your natural talents.

Talent will only get you so far.

People who are naturally talented at speaking may have a bit of a headstart. But talent can also allow you to be lazy and avoid being the best you can be. If you rely on talent to get you through, then you don’t allow yourself to develop your craft, and you limit the impact you could create and the people you could be serving. Think about the times when talent has gotten you through, but maybe you walked away and thought, “I could have done more.”

We all have the ability to be doing better than we’re currently doing.

Our goal should be to be judged not by how well we did, but how well we did relative to the tools and capacity we have. In order to hone your craft and become a true craftsperson, you’re going to throw away a lot of the things you’ve relied on in the past, including parts of your natural talent, because they can’t get you to the next level.

The market you’re in today may not be the market you really belong in.

A craftsman commands high prices because they are so talented – because their work is so much better than other people’s. Many people hold back on developing their craft to the highest level because they can’t currently get a higher return. But you may not have found your market because you haven’t adequately developed your craft.

What are you doing on a regular basis to develop your craft?

You can take yourself from being a talented and capable person to being someone who truly is a cut above. Becoming a craftsperson is the fastest path to get yourself to a higher level. It’s the fastest path to making your message more clear for the people who need it.

The biggest challenge you face is deciding what not to share.

It pays to be selective. You can’t share everything you know and think that you’re helping people. The goal of the craft-minded expertise entrepreneur is to reveal the secret pathway to take people to a different level in their work. A big part of creating craft is honing your message and focusing in on what you do and what you offer.

Recommended Action

Ask yourself the question: are you developing craft, or are you relying on talent? How close are you to being a true craftsperson? And if you’re not as close as you want to be, what’s your first step to getting there? Take an action step and move yourself in that direction.

Free Download

When you meet someone who you'd like to have as a client- whether it's an actual sales conversation or just a handshake, what you do AFTER is the most important factor in whether or not you'll end up working with them. Download Michael’s 4-step follow-up method at http://michaelhudson.com/followup to make sure you never miss an opportunity.