The Superior Value of Specialized Knowledge!

Can hardly believe that we are already on Chapter 5 of the Think and Grow Rich Book Study Project!

This chapter is all about specialized knowledge and how it does more to propel us forward compared to generalized knowledge.

Specialized knowledge can be directly used to solve problems. General knowledge cannot. This brings up the saying Jack of All Trades, Master of None. Napoleon Hill has deemed specialized knowledge as the fourth step towards riches.

The other three covered in previous chapters are: Thought, Desire and Autosuggestion.

It is very hard to be good at everything. Time is precious. Why dilute it by spreading it over too many things?

There is nothing wrong with general knowledge. But don't expect to get rich by it. Here is a quote from the very first paragraph, "The faculties of the great universities possess, in the aggregate, practically every form of general knowledge known to civilization. Most professors have but little money. They specialize on the teaching of knowledge, but they do not specialize on the organization, or the use of knowledge."

The Magic Of Using Specialized Knowledge

Entrepreneurs who are successful either learn the specialized knowledge they need, know where and how to get that knowledge, or do a bit of both. Napoleon Hill gives several examples of how individuals used specialized knowledge to take years of moving up the ranks compared to those who started at the bottom. Like magic!

When an organization knows an applicant has specific expertise they badly need, they start them off at a higher level compared to someone who joins a company with the idea they will learn the ropes as they go along.

Let me give you a personal example. I graduated in Electrical Engineering and Electronics in the year man went to the moon. I was not a very good student. It was hard for me to design electronic circuits. Instead, I focused on a little thing called Light Emitting Diodes. I was fascinated how a piece of semiconductor could emit light. My graduating project was based on opto-electronics. This was a very specialized area of electronics. I was bad at everything else. But very good at this.

Remember this was a time when LED's were only available in red, green or yellow. And they were extremely inefficient and expensive. Hence, the only applications they were good for were in the military. Since these devices were so small they could be connected in a matrix and programmed to display information. And in very small spaces. Like in cameras to embed coded data in the margin of reconnaissance film. Top secret at the time.

After working for a company in England I got dissatisfied with the company because I felt I was not earning enough. My pay at the time was under $5000 a year!

I Took My Knowledge To Canada

I packed it in and went to Canada. With only about $500 to my name. I went there on blind faith that I would find a job. Fortunately I had friends there who put me up while I was looking. I went to so many employment agencies and contacted companies with no success. In England a university degree takes only 3 years. While in Canada and the US it is 4.

Everyone concluded that my 3 year degree was not good enough. Fancy that, It was fine for England but not for Canada. I was about to give up and return to England. My friends told me to look at the job opening pages one more time.

The Magic Ad In The Sunday Paper

One ad caught my eye. I had to do a double take. The words read like my resume! They were looking for an engineer with experience in LEDs! This was in 1975. When I went for my interview, it was I who did most of the interviewing. I landed a job to develop high performance LED displays for the US Air Force. The project was sponsored by the Canadian Government and the USAF. The work was going to be done at there sister division in Los Angeles!

Not only did I get paid my regular salary, I also got an extra living and transportation allowance of $1000 a month. Remember this was back in 1975. In today s dollars that would be about $5000! But this didn't end there.

After the project was over and In returned to Canada, I received an offer from a US company who had heard about me.

They Made Me An Offer I Refused!

They made me an offer that I rejected. I countered with a number 25% higher. They accepted. The deal was not done yet. They had to prove to the US Government that they coudn't find an engineer in the US who was available with my qualifications. That is not to say there weren't others who had my specialized knowledge. But they were few and far between and not looking for a job. Because the company who wanted me had to place ads everywhere for my position. Nobody responded.

Fortunately for me they succeeded in getting me approved. I got my working permit and moved to LA. And they paid all my travel and moving expenses. Including moving a Steinway Grand Piano that I owned.

In the world of electronics there were so many other engineers much smarter than I. It was my specialized knowledge in a very small segment of the electronics field that propelled me into a dream career. I traveled all over the world for business and took my wife on many trips that we extended for a vacation.

And the compensation wasn't shabby either!

Every one of us in Wealthy Affiliate is positioned where we have the option to choose a very specialized niche that allows us to write our own ticket.

We All Possess Specialized Knowledge

It may not seem that way while we are in learning mode. Just think, the skills we are developing are very specialized. And we narrow that down further.

Why?

So that we can become experts in that area to help solve problems for others.

Our challenge is to connect with people who need our expertise. And that is what we are trained to do at Wealthy Affiliate. It just takes a bit of time. And focused work.

Get The Habit - It Better Be Good!

I want to leave you with a final thought from Chapter 5. It says that success and failure are largely the result of habit! Following the lessons taught in Think and Grow Rich will help us change our habits to those conducive to success rather than failure.

Please share any experience you may have where specialized knowledge worked in your favor. And how you can use the idea of specialized knowledge in your affiliate marketing business.

I wish you much success in your affiliate marketing journey.

Cheers!

Edwin