Patrick Mosher argues that your scarcest resource isn't money but your unique talent. He outlines three steps: identify your talent, develop it into a superpower with mentors, then use it to fill a gap in your community. Warren Buffett and the Temple of Delphi's "know thyself" both point to the same truth: self-knowledge unlocks wealth.
Chapters
A friend of mine introduced me to a video about the meaning of money. Wealth advisors talk about hitting your number, which is the wealth you need to accumulate to retire. Do you know your number? In the video, the speaker defines money as a contract for the future. Money is a device for moving value across space and time, and he talks about 5 fundamental components of money. Money must have divisibility, durability, recognizability, portability, and scarcity. What stuck out for me was that money needed to have scarcity. The rarest resources hold the most value— diamonds, gold— and money is a way to accumulate a scarce resource so you can trade it in the future for what you want. Okay, so that's money and why you need to accumulate a pile of it as a scarce resource. A great pile of money allows you to buy what you want, do what you want, go where you want. It gives you freedom. But does money give you what you really need, what you really seek? I wasn't so sure, so I did my 5-why activity. Why do I want personal freedom? Well, so I can spend my time doing what I want and when I want to do it. So why do I want to spend my time doing what I want when I want? Well, so I can focus more time on building my legacy. Hmm, why do I want to build a legacy? Well, so my children, their children, and their children have a better world to live in. Well, why do I want them to have a better world to live in? Because I want to evolve our humanity. And why do I want to evolve our humanity? Well, because that's the purpose of every human being. And there it is, evolving our humanity. For those of us focused on creating a better world for future generations, the point of accumulating a big pile of money isn't to want more of it. It's not even to have more time or to feel secure. You are building your legacy. So how do you do that? Well, discover, hone, and transact on the scarcest, scarcest resource on the planet. You have access to it right now, and you don't have to mine it, trade for it, or barter away your firstborn child. The rarest resource on the planet exists right under your skin. And no, I'm not talking about going to a plasma center. It's you. Warren Buffett gave this advice to young people: you are your own biggest asset by far. And he also said, find your passion, invest in yourself through gathering wisdom, knowledge, and never ever stop learning. So this isn't new advice. The phrase "know thyself" was inscribed in stone in the Temple of Delphi 2,700 years ago. So you see, you have direct access to the scarcest resource on the planet. Your uniqueness is encoded in your DNA. You are rare. So how do you transact on that scarce resource called you? 3 steps. Step 1: Identify your unique talent. Dig deep into the core of your being and identify your unique talent. This is a lifelong endeavor, and you already are on your way. Ask yourself, how are you different than anyone around you? How do you flow concurrent to the masses? Step 2: Hone your talent into a superpower. Get the help of a mentor, coach, or counselor, one that can see and bring out things in yourself you never knew existed. And step 3, translate your superpower into value. Tap into your community to find out what they value, what they need, the gap they feel. Then deliver your superpower right into that value gap. And to speed this up, find others to help you along. Join a mastermind or engage a business advisor. You don't have to do this journey alone. These 3 steps translates your superpower into extraordinary value. It takes time, many iterations and trials, and it takes community. So keep digging. When I mentored young professionals in my consulting career, I would ask them to articulate their personal brand. And usually they said something like, "I work really hard and I'm good with people." And I'd say, "Yep, you and 400,000 other people that work here. What's unique about you? What makes you stand out from everyone else?" Discover your superpower. Articulate it in a way that no one else can, and you are well on your way to discovering the rarest resource on the planet. You. Discover it. Hone it. Focus it like a prism so people see how light shines through you in your unique way, your unique value. Better than gold, diamonds, and astatine, which is the rarest naturally occurring element on the Earth's crust. And by the way, you don't generate wealth by hoarding your talent. You generate value by putting it into the world. Evolution doesn't happen with accumulation. Learn deeply, continuously, and shine boldly.
