Dunno why, but on sunday i feel inspired to write something here. Oh well, here it goes.
Let me give you some context about myself, as sustenance of the advice i'm trying to give here (if a fat guy gives you bodybuilding advice you will not follow them right? so, let's put a solid base that i know what i'm talking about).
Past: disabled since born, from a third world country, coming from a extreme poverty economical context.
Present: Still disabled, Business owner, middle class, blue collar formation, speak 3 languages, one of the referents in my industry, managing people and creating value everyday.
In my childhood and teen years, there was no TRP to look for advice, we didn't even had internet in our cellphones yet (56k modems was the best you could get). I lived an 80% of my life dealing with the imminent need of taking decisions about the survival of myself, my family or both (in economical or health terms). I started to work at 11yr old, selling stuff on the streets just to be able to eat. I had to take impossible decisions. So learnt thing like manipulation, frame, negotiation etc.. not only very early, but as a need to survive. I only had one 9 to 5 job in my life and i only lasted 3 months. I built my professional career all by myself.
So, what are the key points to go from point A to point B? That's what this post is about, let's define the main things you need to perfect for your professional success:
FRAME
This is probably the key for everything in life. YOU MUST BUILD A STRONG FRAME.
What is the core of any frame? CONFIDENCE.
How you build confidence? BEING BETTER AT SOMETHING
Until now, i haven't say anything new right? here comes the phrase "Fake it until you make it" And i totally agree. But still, is fucking hard right? let me give you a hand at it:
READ. ASK. LISTEN.
The main problem with this baby boomers beta's or the 35+yr old that just went to high school or college and is in a dead end job divorced or in a dead bedroom, is that they never done anything outside the lifescript or the rutine. Your knowledge is not only very limited but also, useless. LACK IN ABUNDANCE OF KNOWLEDGE LEADS TO A WEAK FRAME. Of course that learning something from 0 takes time, but you can learn small things and data everyday about your surroundings that will help you not only build confidence, but also understand more of what is around you and how you can move in the turbulent waves easily. Get an anecdote from someone you don't know. Ask something interesting about the profession of someone you know (or even better, someone you don't know, like in a business that you are a regular for example). Learn why people does the thing they do, you never know where you can learn the next thing.Learn and explore you surroundings. OBSERVE. Travelling is awesome, but requires a budget. Still, there is probably a lot to discover at a bicycle or public transport distance (for example, i recently found a lake that was in crappy city near me, that no one goes and was a great anecdote of all the hassle to make it there. Something like that would give you enough material for the next social meeting, to start a conversation and ASK & LISTEN MORE.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY
There are 2 main ways to make money, the corporate ladder or the independent path. I can't talk about the corporate ladder much, i know you need formal education for it, and in my case, i couldn't do it at the time and at this point, i know 10 times more than a graduated of engineering, but i just don't have the damn paper to show it. I don't care, i just prove it in the field and DGAF.
But going to the practical part, the ideal scenario to make money as independent, is to just be the best in your industry & area and build rapport. But let's say that you are not the best, you can still make the same or more, if you can compensate in other areas:
SELL: Selling is an art by itself. if you built a very strong frame, selling could be an important add on to your life. You can describe selling as offering a product, but is a lot more than that. Selling is using the product, the context and the timing in your advantage. If you have an unique product, selling could be a bit easier, but if you have competence, you must identify the context and timing factors that could be an advantage for your product and make a selling strategy. Do you sell a service? make it cheaper, better or more accessible. You can't? outsource it and make a small margin whiteout putting time on it. You sell a product? Make it outstanding from the competence. If you have money for branding, do it. Push into the market with another purpose for it (not use, the use could be the same, but the purpose or the meaning could be different). Use social media amateurs to promote, but that are local or very focused to have a controlled ROI. You must always twist the product, the context or the reality itself to outstand. Here is where you are gonna put your machiavellian skill in use. Still, i recommend to lie the minimum at possible or not lie at all. Very few people can keep track of their lies in the long term, and if you are reading this my friend, you are very far from that point for now.
MASTER THE NEW OR THE VERY OLD: Is good to have a general culture of everything, know a bit about the news etc.. but you must master an area, profession or something at some point (the sooner the better). In my case, i mastered the new, all technology based creation of products (software & hardware). But still, mastering the old is a very good idea too. There are a tons of bank servers working on Cobol, a language programming that was invented in the beginning of the computation. You know how hard and how much someone pays for a just a junior willing to learn and do cobol? you will not believe it. This also applied to any other and more manual profession. Do something that there are very few person alive know how to do (and do it well). You can even teach others and multiply, and offering secure working conditions will make them loyal to you too (even on high demand). Be sure to find something you enjoy to do. The rule that to master something takes 10yr, is very true. Don't do something you don't enjoy for money. Doesn't worth your time.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY: With providers, clients, employees, etc.. communication is key. DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING TO INTERPRETATION. There are 2 reasons for this:
1) Employees and providers doesn't like to think. Is your job to foresee every problem and consequence in the future and in the implementation to do at hand. Of course, you can't see the future. But if you specify everything that needs to be done and what you expect as a result (being ridiculously specific if you can) can avoid 80% of the problems that could come up
2) Clients look for holes to take advantage of you. So, don't leave holes at all. Write everything. In messages, emails, contracts. Even if you agreed something verbally, just send an email to the client with exactly the same content, with an organization excuse and ask for confirmation.
The next kind of communication is that networking is very important. even if it doesn't look like important now, just talk with everyone, and relate with your business, even on non related social gatherings. Doing it at a kids birthday is wrong. Doing at a neighbors meeting or BBQ is good. The best method is to use a funny or interesting anecdote about your business that everyone can understand or even better, have a laugh about it. Unless you are doing networking to make new clients, why you have working capacity that is not being profitable, don't make it a priority. Just integrate it into your everyday social encounter. Go to conferences about your industry when you can, that also helps a lot..
DO NOT STOP. ALWAYS LOOK WAYS TO BUILD WEALTH: This is black pill but at this point, and in the current state of things, i believe that the only real end goal in life is to build wealth. When you can always pay for sex and company very cheap in half of the world, where hypergamy prevent you from the guarantee that an LTR is going to be loyal, where the friends come and go, for money, for partners, for social status etc.. Money is the only asset that you can exchange for everything at this point. Even if you want to pickup girls at bars, you still need the hard cash to do it (to even have the free time and logistics to go out, i don't say to pay for the night). If you mastered something, try to delegate and just control the production/profits. Try a side business. Enter into a new industry. Invest in long term real state. Move to a cheaper country. Investigate about offshore's companies. As much as you can generate, the better. Of course that all work and no fun is going to become hard, but the satisfaction of having a chunk of money in your bank account and that you can go out any weekend, with or whiteout your friends, pay for a VIP girl etc.. That kind of freedom make it all worthwhile.
That's all that comes to my mind really, that i believe are the key points to take in consideration. Still, take it with a grain of salt, like everything in this site. Wish you the best my fellow TRP'ers!
