How to Cultivate Your Very Particular Set of Skills

How to Cultivate Your
Very Particular Set
of Skills

Knowledge is not skill.
Knowledge plus ten thousand
times is skill. — 
Shinichi Suzuki

I’ll admit it — I’m a sucker for the
movie, Taken. Growing up in the
golden age of vigilante films, I can
spot a good one when I see one.

Taken was a fine exhibition of this
genre. One-man wrecking crews like
Steven Seagal, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Sylvester
Stallone were once all the rage,
seemingly armed with a never-
ending arsenal of skills that enabled
them to take down entire villages
and cities.
These warriors always had a crime to
avenge and often very personal ones,
at that. This post is not meant to laud
action films but rather to help you
tap into that indescribable greatness
that’s inside of you. Or as Liam
Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills
would say, “Your very particular set
of skills.”
We’ve all acquired our own,
“particular set of skills”, from a
variety of personal, educational and
professional experiences. Bryan
Mills’ skills were acquired through — 
we can only imagine — what was a
long, brutal career working for the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Chances are, like me, you’re not a
spy. We’re fighting less strenuous
battles, but hardly less consequential.
In our pursuits, we’re developing
skills. We’re thinking deeply about
who we want to be and what values
that will give to our life and to those
we love. We should concentrate
maximum energy and effort toward
building these skills so they become
strengths.
Life Tests Us
There is no innovation and
creativity without failure.
Period. — Brene Brown
Life isn’t easy, in fact, life often
presents us with significant physical,
mental, spiritual and emotional
challenges. On the spiritual side,
we’re tempted in a multitude of ways
to live a life that wars with the inner
core — the true self —  of who we
really are.
On the mental, emotional and even
physical side, all of us will lose loved
ones, and deal with the awful pain
that accompanies those losses. We
endure painful break-ups with
boyfriends or girlfriends, fights that
test our mental resolve and we meet
temporary failure pursuing our
dreams.
As we keep progressing through life,
it only becomes easier to let these
difficult experiences define who we
are. The path of least resistance
emerges as a simple choice for many
people. We find ourselves unhappy
with our circumstances, and we’re
beaten down from setbacks that
weaken our willpower and lead to
complacency. It becomes easy to give
in.
But we must never give in to that
which we know is not right for us.
We need to rise above mediocrity
and disappointment, and come
through the fire, knocking adversity
to the ground. This takes resolve,
courage and self-awareness. We have
to live with self-awareness in order
to avoid repeating previous mistakes.
Once we have gained the value from
our mistakes, triumphs and all
experiences, we’re better equipped
for anything the future will throw at
us.
Complacency is the enemy of
achievement. Adversity will stare all
of us down, time and time again
throughout our lives. The question we
continually face will be: “How do we
respond?” A wise person once said,
“Your desire to change must
be greater than your desire to
stay the same.”
Examine Yourself
“Don’t waste life in doubts
and fears; spend yourself on
the work before you, well
assured that the right
performance of this hour’s
duties will be the best
preparation for the hours and
ages that will follow it.” — 
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The way to continue evolving and
developing your unique, particular
set of skills is to strive for
improvement every day. You have to
have goals in mind for what you
want to accomplish. It’s best to view
your picture in a holistic manner,
taking into account your professional
ambitions and skills, as well as the
interpersonal and life skills you use
each day.
Do you have an idea of what that
picture looks like for your life?
Our personal and professional skills
can always use a boost. Difficult
times test us and shape who we are.
Make sure that you let them shape
you for the better. I encourage you to
write out your current state in the
following four areas of your life:
1) Mental
2) Spiritual
3) Emotional
4) Physical
You’ll be amazed at what you put
down on paper when you’re honest
with yourself. Once you have written
your current state, your mission is to
bridge the gap between where you
and where you desire to be in the
future state.
When I haven’t been happy with my
spiritual life, I’ve made it a plan to
turn to search my soul and ask
myself the difficult questions to
understand why there is a lack of
peace and harmony in my life. I have
turned to my faith, relied on the help
of others, but I have also sought time
alone in solitude for reflection and
contemplation.
When I felt like I was in a rut in my
career, I reached out to trusted
friends and mentors for advice. I
improved my resume, networked
‘like a boss’ and determined what I
needed in order to improve my
skills. When I was having
relationship difficulties or hurting
emotionally, I turned to my family
and friends for comfort and refuge.
Fortunately, they have always had
my back.
The Hunger For More
“Hope is like the sun, which,
as we journey toward it,
casts the shadow of our
burden behind us.” — 
Samuel Smiles
I’ve watched too many successful
people become content with their
own arsenal of skills — regardless of
comparative depth — and then trudge
on, for better or worse, finding
whatever satisfaction and success
they can. This is no way to live. We
should always strive for greater
things and empower ourselves
through inspiration and the desire to
seek greater meaning.
I’ve increasingly developed a
burning desire to challenge my
experiential status quo and hunger
for more. Something more soothing
to the soul — more in line with what
moves me inside and feels like home.
This desire is visualized in my mind 
— imagined and obsessed over and
then put into plan so it will become
my reality.
Connecting this bridge between what
is imagined and what is actionable
will lead to a flourish of excitement
and a horizon of new opportunities.
It’s a matter of you taking your
current state, reconciling it with
where you want to be, and
determining how to do the work to
help you get there in the most
efficient way possible.
Along the way, fears and the voice
inside our heads will occasionally
remind us that we can’t do it. Just
remember that you have your
current and future state analysis to
serve as your guide. When you put in
writing what you need to do to find
self-fulfillment and happiness, you’ll
have a road map that guides and
plots your path, when doubts arise.
We were all born with a particular
set of skills that we are meant to
share with the world. What are
yours?
Live Boldly!
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