Wow…!!! See how time flies, it’s almost the end of 2012
and I just realized I haven’t added anything to my blog this year. Just this
weekend my younger brother came home from school on mid-term break we were talking
and I was saying to him how I wished I knew the things I know now when I was
his age. If only I knew I would have added more value to myself during my
childhood days.
He didn't quite understand what I was talking about so I
told him about an encounter I recently faced when applying for a job in a very
good consulting firm. On the application form there were questions like “Awards
and achievements in university?, Awards and achievements in high school, unique
skills (E.g. playing a musical
instrument), Leadership positions held
etc.
The company saw these skills/achievements
as yardstick to evaluate how valuable an individual was and in return will
decide whether or not to employ the individual and pay a salary equivalent to
the perceived value of the person.
I completed that form knowing my
chances were slim as I have always been a regular guy, mostly above average but
rarely the best in anything. I didn't have a unique skill unlike my younger
brother who plays the guitar really well.
The most successful businessmen and leaders of today didn't become successful by being average, they all had something of value to offer the world. Look at
Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg
of Facebook, all these people had something of value to offer the world which in
turn made them billionaires.
So basically, the amount of money you have or are being offered
is directly proportional to the value you have to offer.
The good news is this, a few people are born leaders,
while some acquire the skill of leadership, some people are gifted in playing
musical instruments while some learn the skill, even if you don’t have a natural
God given flair for numbers or leadership skill or whatever skill you need to achieve
that goal you can always acquire the skills through determination hard work and
commitment.
Some people wonder why I plan to do an MBA since I
already have master’s degree, the answer is very simple. I want to acquire
valuable business skills and develop myself so much that when I see a business
going into bankruptcy I can prescribe a couple of actions the company could take
that will completely turn the business around. This sort of skill is value that
companies would be happy to pay for.
In summary, don’t paper chase, value chase and the paper
will chase after you :)