"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." - Martin Luther King Jr.
Whether you're sweeping the streets, waiting tables, working a 9-5, or simply investing time into your loved hobbies, always make sure that there's a quality dose of excellence in there; a slight distinction, that sets you apart from the rest. And if it's not something you love, but is, or can give you a good return in the future, then learn to fall in love with it.
Yes, you can fall in love with something, even if you once disregarded it or even "disliked" it.
As stated in my Blog description...
"play with passion, or don't play at all"
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵒᵛᵉʳᵃˡˡ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᵘⁿˡᵉˢˢ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵉⁿᵗᶦᵒⁿᵉᵈ
In my life, no matter what I've invested my time and efforts into, I've ensured that I ranked high and stood out from the average participant. Whether it be my work ethic, a few intuitive ideas and solutions, or my efforts to always improve and progress ahead with time, I've implemented it all over every aspect that I've been a part of; whether it be in my work life, or a simple hobby that interests me.
I'm a competitive person. Albeit, I don't lose sleep over it, but I do prefer to stay ahead in the game.
I believe if you work hard enough, and make a good impression, you'll always be rewarded. And with that first impression, if you can add a proper bit of work ethic, better opportunities will come to you.
Whether you're honest and trustworthy, hardworking, or a good problem solver, your excellence should, and will be recognized. Yet, you have to advertise yourself and sell yourself, in a way; I'm not telling you to be a sellout, these are completely different things haha. What I'm saying is, that your actions and contributions should speak for themselves, in a loud manner; a metric so high that it cannot be disregarded by the surrounding crowd.
Alas, I believe one of these traits alone won't be able to give you the upper hand. But, a combination of all these attributes will. You have to be a master of all, to a certain extent.
Remember...
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.”
No matter the type community or group I've joined within the past decade or so, I've always left a mark. Whether it be me adding value to a certain group, proving my skills, or simply leading by example, people have always considered me to be an important part of their group/community.
Yet, it wasn't always like this. Because just over a decade ago I was a total introvert. Even though I was fairly skilled and talented in a few aspects, I couldn't really "advertise" it, nor add any sort of value.
I was a quiet and shy mute kid, what do you expect from someone of that sort?
So, none really saw nor heard anything valuable; thus, I was just another sheep in the flock. You do have to sell yourself, indirectly. To be noticed, you have to stand out, and to stand out, you must contribute unequaled value; one way or the other. It's a vital rule when it comes to networking.
And as we all know...
"Our network is our net worth"
So, work on yourself, and start to add value to other people's lives, and the communities that you're a part of; until the day comes, when you become irreplaceable.
