There is a client tribe out there who have the work you yearn for. They’re desperate for real talent. When they find it, they’ll pay more for it than they are currently paying for people only offering skills.
Do you have a sense that you are here to do something no-one else can do? To find the place where your unique talents are vitally needed? You’re not alone. That feeling is widespread – but mostly unrequited – throughout the population.
But here’s why it’s not happening. Too many of us are in the business of selling our skills. Our parents and teachers mistakenly guided us into believing that skills are valuable.
But we’re not selling our natural talent. We simply haven’t been able to fathom out what that is. And that’s why some free agents (consultants, advisers etc) are not as successful as they ought to be – and certainly not as content.
It’s time to stand the client/free agent relationship on its head and change the locus of power. But it requires a small shift in thinking. Here’s the position at the start:
- Your natural talent is about you.
- Your skills were learned to please others.
You possess both natural talents and learned skills. Only one of these is unique to you. And the difference between the two is vast:
When you sell your learned skills you are offering a commodity. Clients can buy your skills anywhere. Commodities are cheap.
But when you offer your natural talent you are marketing something unique. You have a monopoly on your talent. Monopolies charge high prices.
No need to ask which you’d prefer to be selling. The good news is that it’s now possible to discover exactly where your natural talent lies. Once you know what that is, you’re in the monopoly game.
It’s time to pass GO.
