After two months, I got sucker punched and it still hurts a little. I had written a blog post about something (can’t really remember) and someone commented telling me I wasn’t qualified to talk about any of it.
They said I didn’t go to school and I didn’t have any credentials and I should just quit, ouch. For a long time, that’s all I could think about. At first I tried to ignore it, then I thought about it a bit and laughed.
Then I thought about it a lot, I got angry and bitter. After all of that, I started to doubt myself and my message, I started to question everything I was doing. I already had a lot of doubt and fear, that comment just amplified it.
It took a long time, some counseling, praying and a mindset change to get over it. The biggest problem was the wasted time and how I let it cripple me and keep me from helping people. My goal today is to show you that even if you don’t have the schooling or credentials you can make an impact and help people with something you’re passionate about.
Here’s the thing to understand, our society and many things have changed. School doesn’t mean as much as it used to. These days people take out thousands of dollars in student loans, get degrees and end up at jobs that aren’t related to that degree.
According to the Washington Post only 27% of graduates get a job related to their degree. The point being if you don’t have the schooling for something you’re passionate about, you can still make that dream a reality through hard work.
How can you be an expert at your thing? Here are two ways:
Help people through a situation you’ve gone through
There are things you may have gone through in life that have affected you in a certain way. Now that you’ve gotten through them, you might have a passion to help others avoid or get through what you overcame.
You don’t need schooling or some special degree because you’ve gone through it, you have the best thing that will actually help people: life experience. In our day and age, experience is what people learn from and follow. Talk is cheap, right?
Use your experience to teach and help people, ignore those that say you’re not qualified. Add value, go over the top, people will respond and the haters won’t be able to plant any more doubt.
Learn everything you can about a subject you’re absolutely passionate about
When you’re absolutely passionate about something, without even knowing it, you start learning everything you can about that thing. You read books and blogs, you listen to podcasts and audiobooks. You take in any information you can about that subject.
We’re blessed to be in a day and age where information is readily available, if there’s something you want to get more information on, Google it and boom, you’ve got all the information you need.
What are you passionate about? How much do you know about that subject? Even if you know a lot about your passion, you can and should always learn more. There’s a famous quotation that says “An expert is a student first,” meaning you can always learn more.
Learn so much that no one can question your knowledge or dedication. As you learn, teach and help people get through those difficult situations. At the end of the day an “expert’s” job should be to add value to the lives of others.
Too often we’re crippled by doubt and fear and let it keep us from the life we truly deserve. We let the negative voices of others keep us from the greatness that’s inside of all of us. Let 2014 be the year you make your dream your reality, you can do it!
Will you let a lack of schooling keep you from your dream?
I love this concept, Kimanzi. A lot of people do fall into the trap of not starting because of a perceived lack of education.
Others, like me, have so much education that they may feel like they need to get their “return on investment” by becoming a thought leader in that industry when they can likely help more people and enjoy their work by pursuing something completely unrelated to their education.
It’s a different concept – too much education, perhaps – but a similar result: They don’t pursue a dream because of education.
Great reminder.
Thank you for your honesty. Whatever your passion is, you can make it possible! Is this picture your book?
Thanks Kimanzi. Yes… well it’s a picture based on the cover of my (upcoming) book.
Let me know if you need any help!
Thanks Kimanzi! Will do.
🙂
Nick – oh my gosh. I love the juxtaposition you lay out here. Can’t pursue the dream because of too little education – can’t pursue the dream because of too much education. You could write a book on the fences those too ends create.
Thanks, Dan! It’s a dynamic I’ve been exploring for quite some time and about which I’m passionate – both on the “I’m too educated to move on” side and the “I’m not a trained expert so what am I doing writing a book and blog about marriage and relationships” side. Fortunately I have great mentors guiding me and have studied furiously along the way with my writing while transitioning to another application of my education in the meantime.
It would certainly be a logical progression in my writing and I’m sure it could help a lot of similarly situated young (or older) professionals!
Great post Kimanzi and I can identify. Some people can be weeded out and avoided but it’s more difficult on the internet.
It seems the people that criticize are usually people who are frustrated and not doing anything. You not only found the courage to continue you changed what you could by learning and doing more. That certainly is a great lesson for me.
Thanks brother, you’ve been such a blessing to me!
Great post. A teacher should always be a student like you are Kimanzi. Glad you rose above the rejection. Keep up the awesome 🙂
Thanks Zech, are you getting ready for the haters?
I honestly don’t know…we will see.
You’ll be alright 🙂
Love this Kimanzi, thanks for sharing it. I have never worked in the area I went to college for. .except for a few months internship. All my decade+ work experience has been in different sectors. Last 5 years in my areas of passion. Great thoughts.
That’s the best place to “work”
So true, I see it everyday where people have degrees but lack common sense or are in a different field than what they went to school for. Just because you may not have gone to school for it .. last time I checked hard knocks can still make one a qualified expert.
Amen, nothing better than real life experience!
Greetings Kimanzi,
Great post! I am one of those who grew up when a college education was seen as a ticket to success and working for an employer over the long term was the goal. My how times have changed. It’s been a challenge to contend with, realizing that security with an employer is an illusion regardless of commitment level and work ethic. The upside is that I have a host of life experiences, recently very painful, that undoubtedly could be used to help others navigate through dark times. I haven’t fully let go of the outdated idea that formal education leads to expertise. Thank you for the reminder. Articles such as yours and many others written here will help me get out of my own way. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your story Paul. I read an article in USA about how the federal government made 42 billion dollars in student loan profit. I think a lot of mindsets need to shift as Dan always talks about!
Great attitude Kimanzi! Thanks for articulating how you overcame doubters & detractors, while still clearly demonstrating how you can help people. We all do this (where’s a good place to eat, who should I take my car to, how do I fix this on my house, etc).
How’s your dream chasing journey going DS?
Baby steps. Building habits of consistency is the most important component I’ve been working on. The next step is moving to a self-hosted platform. In order to do that, I need to set a firm time to make the move, as well as a securing the domain name, and fully understanding the niche. I struggle between totally Bible based concepts and style and a leadership focus that incorporates scriptures.
How about you? Isn’t it a day or so from your drop into Hawaii?
I’m at the airport right now 🙂
AWESOME!
Very true. I knew nothing about the food industry before launching my energy bar company, Bearded Brothers. Today we are sold in over 350 locations across the Nation and have HUGE plans for expansion. I simply poured countless hours into learning what it took to get the business started, and I am still learning new things about the industry 3 years in.