Five Ways to Become a Master in your Craft

by Ivan Serrano Ivan Serrano's Blog

Sending resumes, applications, and pitches and being overlooked continuously is the narrative most people can attest to having. It is especially so in fields saturated with people who have similar skills. As year’s progresses, we soon learn that it is not about the hours spent. A classic example is being let go after working in one position for years.

To avoid being part of statistic and get the kind of job and pay you what want, consider taking these five steps to master your craft.

1. Narrow your focus

Experts in any industry are known for their extensive knowledge in a singular subject. They stop being a jack of all and master one thing. A Toronto GST lawyer can choose to have a singular focus on tax planning for startups instead of only practicing tax law. Here, you are best working on your areas of strength and knowledge to avoid unnecessary frustration.

2. Create a guideline to get you to mastery

Upon establishing a narrow focus, you have to put in place a mechanism that tracks your progress. The lawyer can start with picking cases to do with startups only, work toward getting them the most tax breaks, and then shifting to specializing either in tech or agricultural startups. For that, one has also to formulate a criterion that will be used to evaluate the various levels of mastery.

3. Create success indicators

It is not enough to want to be good at something. Even with the guidelines, what constitutes as successful needs to be detailed. It is not about working with startups only- how many do you work with every quarter? What percentage tax breaks can you get them? What other indicators will show how well versed you are in tech startups? You don’t have to get these right the first time, as you grow you can tweak them to be more specific. Don’t forget to state what failure looks like to prevent having too much leeway to not doing your best.

4. Remain motivated

Mastering a craft is difficult. There will be days you question embarking on the journey or whether it is important. During times of anger and frustration, allow yourself to feel the emotions, but don’t remain stuck. Have reminders on your desktop, mobile devices and vision board why what you are doing matters. It is what will help you out of nearly giving up.

5. Arm yourself with resources

Getting to where you are requires not just practice but also learning new things about your trade. Aim always to learn something new and evaluate steps taken to establish if something was the best route to take. Without resources, the journey to mastery will take an excessively long time. Instead, learn from

those who know more than you do. Remember, you are also a resource. Cement your knowledge then by teaching others.