We hear it all the time. Stick to only your strengths and pursue what you are qualified to do.
I do believe this is true for many situations in life, as it is wise to double down on your gifts, however, there are also times when you can be successful at something you’ve never tried in your life.
Dan Carlin, the well known political commentator and podcaster for his show, called, Hardcore History, also shares this belief when he said, “Don’t be afraid to pursue things you are unqualified for”. He’s been quoted to say,
Amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic
In an interview with Tim Ferriss in Tools Of Titans, Naval Ravikant once said to his brother, Kamal Ravikant,
If I had always done what I was ‘qualified’ to do, I’d be pushing a broom somewhere.
Also, Indian Billionaire and Space Explorer, Naveen Jain, states, “try different ventures. Many times those who have no experience in a certain field will come with fresh new ideas, figure out ways more experienced people would never have even thought of and beat out 30 year veterans in an industry.”
You ever heard the saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know”? For someone brand spanking new to a certain industry, they don’t know what they don’t know. Being all bright eyed and bushy tailed has some benefit behind it after all, as it carries a sort of naivety and at the same time a sense of wonderment, intense curiosity, imagination and desire to learn all there is to know about their topic of interest.
If you have a burning passion for something but don’t fully believe you can be successful at it, do it anyway. Dan Carlin says, “I didn’t think I could be a historian because I didn’t have a Doctorate. But when my grandmother asked me, Do the historians you know have a Doctorate? I said no and realized they simply just did it and told a story of history from their own knowledge and viewpoint.”
So don’t think you always need to be qualified to do well at something. Heck, there are many overqualified people who apply for jobs and get turned down all the time because they are overqualified.
If you have an itch, for God sakes, scratch that itch and see where that leads you. We’ve heard the cliche over and over but it’s true: life is too short. It’s too short to live a safe life. You only have one shot so you might as well take the risks on your dreams because if you don’t you will live with regret for the rest of your life.
And if you fail, who cares, you get back up, get a job and try something else you love to do on the side.
Prime example, is myself.
I had a dream of playing Professional Basketball since I was a little boy. I played from the age of 9 through Varsity Basketball in High School at St. Peter’s Prep. I got a couple D 3 offers but I ended up forgoing those opportunities to try walk on to Rutgers, a D1 Basketball Program.
I ended not making the team, but guess what?
I kept playing throughout college in leagues and worked on my game.
After college, I played Semi-Pro Ball for 2 years, then went to Vegas got an agent, tried out for a Mongolian Basketball League tryout and got my first Pro contract to play in the Mongolian National Basketball Association (MNBA).
Some would say I was unqualified, since I didn’t play college ball but I believed in myself, had a burning desire to play Pro Ball, worked on my game for hours on end, learned from Pros and took a chance on my dream.
After playing in the MNBA I went on to play Basketball for my Nepalese National Team, in India, Thailand, etc. winning a Bronze Medal in the 2016 South Asian Games in Bangalore, India.
I was unqualified but I made it happen.
I understand if you have a family to take care of, this will be more difficult, but even then it doesn’t mean you give up on your dreams. No, you work harder, work smarter and make more sacrifices in order to make your dream a reality.
For example, I have a Wife and Son now.
Does that mean I’m giving up on my dreams?
Absolutely not! I
In fact, it’s made me more disciplined, happier, grateful, inspired and driven to achieve several of my wildest dreams.
Take writing and storytelling for instance. I have become better at being more consistent and writing every other day and sometimes every day for weeks at a time.
Of course, with a newborn that first year is the toughest and boy was it ever. Yes, there were ups and downs, sacrifices we had to make, putting our child first. There were many times where my needs were secondary and writing, working out, playing Basketball took a backseat.
But my wife and I worked together and made it through. For those times I had to give time to my son, I got back up on the chair and wrote in the early mornings or whenever I had time. I worked out when he slept or did mini-workouts during little pockets of time throughout the day, banging out 30 pushups here, 30 situps there, 30 dips, etc.
Point is I had made it happen. I executed on my dreams and put one foot in front of the other one step at a time.
Elon Musk, himself, didn’t know much about Rockets and when asked how he learned about Rockets, he says,
I learned from books, some of the smartest people in the space industry, and had a basic physics background
What are you so passionate about yet are unqualified for?
Do that thing.
Don’t be afraid to pursue things you are unqualified for.
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Don’t allow fear to stop you from living your wildest dreams.
We are all cheering for you and cannot wait to hear your triumph and success story.
Love,
Sonam
