In the world of work someone is called an expert if:

• They’ve been in a particular kind of work for a number of years
• Someone hails them publicly as being ‘an expert’ in the business world because of the number of years they’ve been toiling away in their industry

Or expert status is measured by the number of clients you have. The more clients – the greater your expert status!

The dictionary definition talks about knowledge and skill, so you might be called an expert if:

• There aren’t that many people in the world who know as much about that one thing as you do
• You long to make a difference
• You have reached a respectable level of success but feel as if there is another orbit above you that has your name on it

I prefer to use the definition from ‘The Business of Expertise’ by David C. Baker – often referred to as “the expert on being and expert”:

You are an expert if:

• You notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not readily seen by anyone else.
• You have acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding of your subject matter and allows you to apply that expertise in context with deep consideration for each circumstance.

The biggest clue that you are an expert may be this:

You know what you know (whatever your pattern recognition is) but that does not guarantee that you are able to teach others.

Many experts don’t recognize they are experts!

To be a true expert you need to be rewarded for your expertise. You charge people for access to what you know. Your thinking is regularly sought and paid for.

This is the main reason why you may not consider yourself an expert right now: you are not being rewarded for your brand of expertise.

What you need is a way to apply your expertise. You need to develop a proprietary method for turning what you know into cash flow.

I can help you with that but whether you choose to work with me or not does not make you any less of an expert.

I encourage you to spend the next couple of days thinking about your area of expertise: Are you being well-paid for it – and if not, why not?