Can you be successful if you have no special skills?

Throughout our growing years, we are being told what can best be described as a lie – find out what you are best at, work at it, and then be all rich and successful.

This advice works brilliantly for those who were born best at something. But for the others, it is a little soul – crushing. What if you do not world class skills and are just OK at a lot of things?

Well, nearly everybody falls into this category – including super – successful megastars. In fact, only a handful of successful people are actually extremely good at something. Generally, people are a good mix of all the things that matter.

Take Bill Gates for example. He is definitely not the best programmer in the world. Neither is he the best accountant, sales person, speaker, or visionary. He is quite good at all of this, but he has learnt to weld his skills together and produce something a lot more valuable.

Let us take a look at some examples closer to home. Shah Rukh Khan does not say that he is the best actor. Neither does he claim to be good looking. But, he is a voracious reader, has tremendous work ethics, knows how to hire people, and has a charming personality. He combined all of these to create a worldwide fan following.

Many such people would have made the worst mistake of their lives had they focused only on one skill that they thought they were the best at. If this were the trend, then Dhirubhai Ambani would have been a gas station attendant all his life.

If you feel you have mediocre skills, you can combine them astutely and create something priceless.

Let us say that you understand the world of business and entrepreneurship. But, you know you don’t have it in you to start off something of your own. Also, you have patience and love spreading your knowledge. Later on, you learn how to make videos and promote yourself on the Internet. You will not be the best at making videos, or promoting stuff online. But, you can combine your mediocre skills and start teaching people about entrepreneurship.

This formula, in fact, works for just about any profession. An average businessman who learns a bit of law, body language, programming, design, or public speaking will have a huge advantage over the others. A great businessperson is a result of the fusion of relevant skills.

It is quite common to find people with individual skills. But, it is very rare to see people who have combined their skills to emerge with something beautiful and powerful. So, to increase your value, just take a step back, look at your strengths in the broader perspective, and build a formidable combination!

Image credits: http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/137/5/3/the_avengers_by_vadlyx-d502jq9.jpg