There you are at coffee, sitting across from a genius. You’ve been following this guy’s blogs and books for a while. And you had the guts to reach out and get a meeting. You wanted to see if he’d chat with you for a bit. You’re hoping to get that special bit of wisdom that will propel your life on your desired trajectory. You know he holds the secrets.
You’re nervous. This guy’s an expert. He knows so much more than you and has so much confidence. This expert. This superior being.
The way you’re feeling is ridiculous. This person is no better than you. And you have no business thinking they are.
You see, an expert is not a rare thing. Anyone can be an expert. All it takes is a little extra knowledge or skill, the confidence to believe in your knowledge or skill, and the ability to make your knowledge or skill known. It’s three simple steps anyone could take if they really wanted to.
An expert is no better than anyone else. But the people who surround them elevate them to a higher status. Let me explain.
I could have ten million people anonymously reading my blog. You’re one of them. If you’re unaware of those ten million people, you realize I’m just a regular guy processing through regular things. No one special. But as soon as you find out about those other ten million people, you elevate me to superior status. You think I’m a real somebody.
It’s a bit ridiculous, really.
Just because someone has a few followers and speaks with some authority, you begin separating yourself from them. You start pushing them away from you up toward the clouds.
Stop that. We’re all people. We all struggle with the same junk—feelings of inferiority, loneliness, worry…the list goes on.
You don’t need to be afraid of those experts you see. You don’t need to push people into the clouds while you stand on the earth looking up. Join them.
Be great at your craft and be humble about it. You might even surprise yourself and realize some of the experts are intimidated by you.
