Skills are very important to learn for constant improvement. We should live like a toddler who questions everything and spends most of their time observing and learning. Every day brings new learning, and unfortunately, most of us take it lightly.
Few skills are very easy, and few are very difficult to master. But not everything is applicable to everyone. For instance, driving might be very easy for most of you, but I struggled to master it. I failed three times to pass my DMV exam, and so far it’s the only skill that made me think of quitting. Thanks to my coach, who motivated me and made me master this skill. Now, I just love driving; if I don’t go for a long drive for a month, I feel uneasy. I always joke, that i was a driver in my past life.
Now, coming back to the question, I think self-marketing is such a skill that most people don’t know how to do. I am mainly talking about corporate; there are so many hard-working guys out there who don’t know how to showcase their efforts, and they spend the majority of their working life sitting in a corner being unknown. Marketing is very important to survive in the industry, and not only in corporate, in any field; if you don’t know how to market yourself, you will spend your life being an ordinary guy, irrespective of how talented you are, or the kind of success you deserve will be delayed.
Interestingly, I had this skill from the beginning of my career. My rule of thumb is that if you are doing work, your 40% skill should be for completing that work efficiently, and 60% should be for marketing your work and yourself. Don’t get fooled by sayings like your work speaks for itself. In the era we are living in, everything is tied to marketing.
Recently, during my India visit, I went to a famous watch repair shop and asked the guy at the counter, who was experienced and my father’s age, about a nearby food shop that was getting very famous through social media reels. I asked him whether that shop was really good. The answer stuck with me; without saying much, he said, “Theek hai, paisa hai to sab hai, paisa kharch karo to mitti bhi bech sakte ho, varna badam ki bhi keemat nhi” (Translation -> If you have money and do the marketing, even dirt can be sold; otherwise, you can’t even get value for your quality almonds)
Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!
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