Ep 626 | 10x Your World by Becoming the Expert

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Just last week, I had the opportunity to watch a, a prominent leader of an investment fund, well-known guy in the— on Wall Street, and in the investment space. I heard him speak and he had a great quote that I've been thinking around ever since. It's not going to sound all that awesome, but for me it kind of stuck with me and I've been kind of dissecting it. And I want to talk to you all about, about some of the things that have been on my mind. This individual said, you could become the world's leading expert in almost anything if you truly commit to doing it. Simple statement. I just think it's brilliant because most people stay broad. They try to be generalists. But when you go narrow, when you pick a lane and you dedicate yourself to it, your credibility multiplies, your opportunities multiply, your income multiplies. I think I'm so drawn to this quote because I lived this. Early in my career, and I wish I could say it was because I was so strategic, but early in my career, I fell into a lane. I fell into a focus. I became a specialist, whereas so many around me were generalists. And I focused on one particular subject, one lane of business for the first 6 years I was in the game. And as a result, I became pretty credible. I became pretty well known. I had opportunities multiply and my financial opportunities were, were robust because I had such a level of focus and I became an expert. So, this quote matters to me. And as I got to thinking about it, even still today, too many generalists, not enough specialists. So, I'm going to break down the 5 steps, what I at least, at least what I think are the 5 steps to becoming the expert in any subject. Then, I'm going to give you an example that we're going to walk through together. So step 1, step 1, choose your narrow. You can't be the expert in everything. You have to decide where you want to go deep. So I'd ask myself a few questions, okay? First question I'd say is, I'd ask is, what's a topic that energizes me? Something I could, I could study daily without burning out. Next question I'd ask: what— where does expertise actually create leverage and value? For example, being the world's expert in 18th, 18th century shoes, that might not pay. But being the expert in affordable housing finance, that probably could pay. Lastly, Where do my interests and market needs intersect? Where do those two things intersect? So for example, instead of being a, a marketing guy, what if you became the expert in marketing for law firms under 50 employees? Or instead of being a fitness trainer, you become the expert in helping women over 50 build muscle safely. That sort of specificity, that creates authority in my opinion. So step 1, choose your narrow. Step 2, commit to deep study. Once you've chosen the lane, you have to immerse yourself. And when I think around immersing myself, no surprise, I think it's reading every book, Reading every case study, every white paper, everything around the subject that you can get your hands on. You, you go, you go as deep into that as you can. Then I think at a minimum, you follow and study the top 10 experts in your field. Just pick the top 10 experts, read their work, watch their interviews. If they're at a conference somewhere, go to it. If there's structured training in this particular lane, certifications, classes, mentorships, whatever it may be, take it, go to it. And then lastly, build what I would call a knowledge vault. Notes, quotes, frameworks, data you could draw from instantly. I think when you run through those things I just gave you, You're not dabbling. I think you're obsessed, right? You become obsessed. And for 12 to call it 24 months, consume more than anyone else around you around this subject matter. That's how you outpace everyone else. Think about Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours idea. Think about it not necessarily as a lifetime pursuit, but as stacking this concentrated learning and this practice to leap ahead of the crowd. Step 3, apply and document. Reading is not going to be enough. If you're going to be an expert, you got to get your hands dirty. So apply what you learn immediately in real-world situations, anywhere and everywhere you can. Take notes on what worked, what failed, what surprised you. Document the journal publicly if you're up for it. Write short posts, record videos, create summaries. Why do I think you ought to do that? Because the process of explaining something forces mastery. It's why I'm a broken record around we should all be teaching on some sort of subject or subjects. Because when you have to teach something, when you have to explain something, it forces you to master it. So if you're studying negotiation, don't just read Chris Voss, who I think is The Master Negotiator, go negotiate better rates with your vendors. So just don't just read, go apply, go negotiate a better rate with a vendor or, or negotiate, you know, your car loan down or whatever it may be. And then write a post about here's what, here's what worked, here's what didn't. People will start to see you as the practitioner and not just the student. I think documenting, by the way, also compounds. 6 months of visible content turns into a library that positions you as the person to call on that subject. Step 4, build a reputation. You can be brilliant in private, but if nobody knows it, you're not the expert. So how do you build a reputation? Publish consistently. Even small, like little thoughtful posts, they start to build credibility. In addition, speak whenever possible on this subject. Speak on podcasts, panels, community events, whatever it may be. Speak whenever possible. And then lastly, create a personal signature framework or signature phrase or a signature insight that people can start to associate with you. But create something that sticks, that people will remember. Reputation is when someone hears your niche and your name comes up in the same sentence. For example, someone says, "Oh, you need help with that? Oh, you've got to call so-and-so. He's the expert." That's when you know your reputation is established. And then step 5, stay ahead. Being the expert is not some sort of one-time achievement. It's, it's a moving target. So that means you've got to track industry news before it's mainstream. You've got to constantly be testing new tools and methods. You certainly have to stay humble, stay humble enough to keep learning. Experts have a tendency to stay experts by being the first to see what's next, not by just mastering what already is. Now, I want to give you an example, and that example is going to be, let's say you want to become the expert on your local community, and we're going to run through this real quick, but let's apply it to real estate because I know we got a lot of real estate professionals here. And instead of being another, you know, run-of-the-mill agent, let's decide I'm going to be the expert on my community. So when I say step 1, choose your narrow, you're not choosing the whole city You're choosing your neighborhood, your zip code, your town. Now, the second step would be to commit to deep study. So, what does that mean? Learn the history of the town or the zip code. Learn the schools. Learn the zoning changes. Maybe infrastructure plans, new business permits. Subscribe to council minutes or go to council meetings and the planning board meetings. Step 3, apply and document. Tour every new restaurant. Interview local business owners. Walk the streets. Document what you learn on social media. Here's what's new. Here's what's changing. Here's what it means for all, all the homeowners in town. Number 4, build your reputation. Over time, you're the one people tag when someone asks, Who knows this area? You're not just an agent, you become the unofficial mayor. And I want you to think about it that way, becoming the unofficial mayor of your local market or community. And then lastly, number 5, stay ahead. Be the first to know about new developments and new listings and school changes or big local news. Make it such that people rely on you because you're always ahead of the curve. To me, I think this level of expertise becomes monetizable. Like, we can make money off this. People don't just hire you to buy or sell a home, they're going to hire you because you know the community better than anyone else. So again, as we close out, remember these steps: choose the narrow, commit to deep study, apply and document, build a reputation, and stay ahead. I want to challenge you to maybe pick one thing, one area, whatever it may be, where you can become the expert. Something specific enough to dominate, but also valuable enough to matter. Write that thing down and then take, take your first step. Go buy the book or the books, set the meeting, create that first piece of content. Remember, you can become the world's leading expert in almost anything. The only real variable, in my opinion, is your commitment. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.