The Secret About Experts Part 2

In my first post I wasn't entirely honest.  Knowing a few tricks and using them successfully is only the way to be percieved as an expert. But that is the first step to actually being an expert.  It puts a spring in your step and can give you the drive to really, truly become an expert in your field.

Becoming an expert on any subject is simple, hell it's even easy.  What's more I can give you the magic formula that let's you so it for free. 

 Go to the library and read everything there is on your subject of choice. Take notes  You now know more about it than 97% of people.  Choose five books you found to be most helpful.  Take a quick trip to google or amazon and find every book those authors wrote on the subject.  If your library doesn't have them ask if they can get them on inter-library loan.  Most can, but it takes a week or two for the books to arrive.  If you can't stand the wait go to Barnes and Noble.

Guess the next step. It involves more notes.

So now you've read everything your favorite five authors have written.  You know more about your field than 99%.  Trust me on four more steps and you'll do even better, you'll understand more about your field than 99% of people.

Next go read a John Clancy, Clive Cussler, Sophie Kinsella, or whatever book you think would be interesting and fun. (Read, do not watch TV or go to a movie.  Experts read as their leisure activity. The idiot box is not your friend.)  Think of it as literary sorbet.  You are clensing the mental palate for the next course to better enjoy and understand it.

Now apply what you've learned to your business and your everyday life.   Practice the techniques you've been studying then go back and read the books again.  Think about them in light of what you've been doing.  How has your understanding changed?  What works with your style? Which parts play to your personal strengths.

The last step is the most essential, the most rewarding, and lest time consuming.

It's also scary as hell.

Find the contact information for the authors of your five books (unlike popular fiction authors it is often on the jacket and rarely hard to come by on google)  Call them- I know just hear me out- and use this script.

Hi, my name is Your Name, I've read your books "Awesome" "Amazing" and "Fantastic", and I have to say they blew me away.  I was wondering if you have a few minutes to talk about Whatever it is you found really insightful.  It would mean the world to me because I am having touble understanding/ ran into this problem when I . (You're clever, eplace the unerlined parts.)

I've gotten through to two of my five and guess what, I talked to both of them for hours.  By which I mean shut up, listened, and occasionally salivated.

Why were they willing to talk to me you ask?

It's simple.  True experts love their field.  It i their hobby, their passion and their career. And they love to talk about it.  They can't talk about it at home anymore because their spouse has informed them that one more word on the subject will be grounds for a divorce.

They've run out of friends who are willing to humor their obbsession. And then out of the blue comes an interesting, informed person who really really wants to hear them go on about it.

You're like the freshman shows up at the party with a keg and a bag of weed.  Unexpected, a little awkward, but welcome to stay as long as you like.