Remember That You Are an Expert in Your Field

No matter how much we know, most of us feel that we are at best a source of general knowledge in either the field that we work in or in some other area that we are interested in.  Occasionally, we might be considered an expert or leader in our field if we have extensive education and experience, but the average person probably does not feel that they are expert in any field.

The reality is that expert status is not some magical achievement that only the top people in their field attain and it is certainly not based on a huge number of hours or years working in that field.  In its most basic form, expertise is having a greater amount of knowledge than the average person has in that area.  Expertise also suggests having a vast amount of knowledge, but it is not a requirement.

This raises two interesting questions:  Do we want to be an expert AND do we need to be an expert.

If you want to be an expert, first ask yourself why?  There is no central body that confers this status.  There are plenty of Social Media and online marketing experts who are teenagers and we do not question this fact or treat them like they have achieved a grand goal in life.  We do, however, value their knowledge in the field and they very often make a great living with this knowledge. 

Also, if an online marketer is very successful, then the reason for their expertise may be that they have a passion for the subject, they are good at it or they like to make large sums of money.  They may also like the status conferred on people that are considered experts.  In other words, their ego is stroked by the title of expert.

In the case of new technology, it can be very obvious when there is a knowledge gap, and one person knows substantially more than others about that subject.  This begs the question, do you need to be an expert in a field to advance in it and if you want to, make money at it?

The interesting reality is that you do need to have knowledge of your subject, but you probably do not need to have a huge amount more knowledge than the average person had to be considered knowledgeable in that area.  As long as you know enough to make a valuable contribution to the subject and help others with that knowledge, you do not need to be an expert.

There are always going to be subjects that you have an interest in and that interest is going to lead to having more knowledge than most people in that field.  It may not be considered “expertise,” but you would certainly be a source of information on that subject and that has value to others.

Rather than having to research and learn about a particular field, people could come to you for your knowledge on that subject if they needed to.  This is nowhere near as farfetched as many believe, even if they have no interest in being considered subject matter experts.  This can be demonstrated by some examples:

Bill Gates is an expert in computer operating systems, but you would not go to him for medical advice.  If you were a doctor, it is a safe bet that you have much more knowledge than him in that field. 

Warren Buffet is an investing expert, but there are probably areas of knowledge that you have that he could ask you for advice if he needed it.

Now, both men are at the top of their fields, and you can bet that if they wanted to, they could excel at any number of areas, if they wanted to, but they don’t.  They have specialized, so people go to them for their knowledge, and they go to others for theirs.

So, if you have a passion for a subject, that will make it much easier to gain knowledge in it.  If you have more than the average amount of knowledge, you too could be an expert in your field.