What is keeping you from being an expert in your field?

When you leave the room, what do people say about you? Are you an expert in your field? Or are you the one who does your job with almost no passion and just goes through the motions? Are you the kind of person who is sensitive to everything people say about you? Or, are you an innovator with a strong vision?

Whether you are building online platforms, blogging, or writing ad copy, you have to find your unique vision.

Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH, is celebrating 45 years since he published his international best-selling book, Aerobics, inspiring millions of people across the world to join the fitness revolution.

While I think Dr. Cooper listens to people’s suggestions, I’m sure he became less and less sensitive to the naysayers along the way. He has a strong sense of vision and singular focus. I’d like to have a few dollars for each person who thought Dr. Cooper was crazy with his newly developed form of exercise called ‘aerobics’. He published his book in the sixties.

As Curly from the movie City Slickers said, ‘one thing’, with his index finger in the air, it’s up to you to find that ‘one thing’.

If you work on one thing with laser beam focus, many distractions will be eliminated, and you could become an expert in that area in a short period of time. Study the experts. Listen to advice. But, be a cowboy and travel the land to find your own and unique vision.

Everyone has a gift.

If you think about some of the struggles you’ve had in your life, chances are your experience could be a valuable asset to others. That’s one of your gifts. Even if you are not talented at website design, if it’s something that you truly have an interest in, focus on that one thing. Learn and tweak until you find your unique design. Maybe you are going to design websites specifically for the hair care industry or for local restaurants.

Duplicate yourself.

Once you find success using your gifts to help solve other people’s problems, duplicate your efforts by teaching others to do the same.

Do you think it’s a good idea to have a singular focus when building your online platform or when we are in the midst of a challenging economy, does the marketplace reward those with many talents?