You Don’t Need Skills To Succeed
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(At least not the way you think)
Last week I watched out of curiosity a video/podcast episode from the series Deep Dives by the YouTuber Ali Abdaal.
He was interviewing someone I never heard of before: Daniel Priestley, a multi-business owner. Quite appealing to me since I aim to own multiple $M businesses in the next 11 years.
But I didn’t expect what happened: I had a realisation.
Not a businessman
See, I’m an academic. The hardcore one, a Ph.D. in Physics, and 20 years of experience in public research.
I have never been employed by a business (except those few small jobs to make some money as a student, only a few days or weeks).
All my perspective on being successful has been built in this context where knowledge and skills are everything.
Looking back on my attempts to build an online business, I mostly succeeded by doing freelance work: exchanging my skills and time for money.
It makes sense now since that’s what I’ve always done.
This is also how we are taught at school: learn a skill and be good to get good grades (i.e. get rewarded).
When we approach the real world, it’s only logical to keep this same process we’ve been conditioned to: I need to be good at my skill so people will employ me and give me money.
And then one day you realize that you can also make money without being employed. That’s what I did when I started freelancing about 2 years ago.
And it works.
Until it doesn’t fit anymore with your life and aspirations…
