Find and Build Specific Knowledge
Find and Build Specific Knowledge
Sales skills are a form of specific knowledge.
There’s such a thing as “a natural” in sales. You run into them all the time in startups and venture capital. When you meet someone who is a natural at sales, you just know they’re amazing. They’re really good at what they do. That is a form of specific knowledge.
Obviously they learned somewhere, but they didn’t learn it in a classroom setting. They learned probably in their childhood in the school yard, or they learned negotiating with their parents. Maybe some is a genetic component in the DNA.
But you can improve sales skills. You can read Robert Cialdini, you can go to a sales training seminar, you can do door-to-door sales. It is brutal but will train you very quickly. You can definitely improve your sales skills.
Specific knowledge cannot be taught, but it can be learned.
When I talk about specific knowledge, I mean figure out what you were doing as a kid or teenager almost effortlessly. Something you didn’t even consider a skill, but people around you noticed. Your mother or your best friend growing up would know.
Examples of what your specific knowledge could be:
→ Sales skills
→ Musical talents, with the ability to pick up any instrument
→ An obsessive personality: you dive into things and remember them quickly
→ Love for science fiction: you were into reading sci-fi, which means you absorb a lot of knowledge very quickly
→ Playing a lot of games, you understand game theory pretty well
→ Gossiping, digging into your friend network. That might make you into a very interesting journalist.
The specific knowledge is sort of this weird combination of unique traits from your DNA, your unique upbringing, and your response to it. It’s almost baked into your personality and your identity. Then you can hone it.
No one can compete with you on being you. Most of life is a search for who and what needs you the most.
For example, I love to read, and I love technology. I learn very quickly, and I get bored fast. If I had gone into a profession where I was required to tunnel down for twenty years into the same topic, it wouldn’t have worked. I’m in venture investing, which requires me to come up to speed very, very quickly on new technologies (and I’m rewarded for getting bored because new technologies come along). It matches up pretty well with my specific knowledge and skill sets. [10]
I wanted to be a scientist. That is where a lot of my moral hierarchy comes from. I view scientists as being at the top of the production chain for humanity. The group of scientists who have made real breakthroughs and contributions probably added more to human society, I think, than any single other class of human beings. Not to take away anything from art or politics or engineering or business, but without science, we’d still be scrambling in the dirt fighting with sticks and trying to start fires.
Society, business, & money are downstream of technology, which is itself downstream of science. Science applied is the engine of humanity.
Corollary: Applied Scientists are the most powerful people in the world. This will be more obvious in the coming years.
My whole value system was built around scientists, and I wanted to be a great scientist. But when I actually look back at what I was uniquely good at and what I ended up spending my time doing, it was more around making money, tinkering with technology, and selling people on things. Explaining things and talking to people.
I have some sales skills, which is a form of specific knowledge. I have some analytical skills on how to make money. And I have this ability to absorb data, obsess about it, and break it down—that is a specific skill that I have. I also love tinkering with technology. And all of this stuff feels like play to me, but it looks like work to others.
There are other people to whom these things would be hard, and they say, “Well, how do I get good at being pithy and selling ideas?” Well, if you’re not already good at it or if you’re not really into it, maybe it’s not your thing—focus on the thing that you are really into.
The first person to actually point out my real specific knowledge was my mother. She did it as an aside, talking from the kitchen, and she said it when I was fifteen or sixteen years old. I was telling a friend of mine that I want to be an astrophysicist, and she said, “No, you’re going to go into business.” I was like, “What, my mom’s telling me I’m going to be in business? I’m going to be an astrophysicist. Mom doesn’t know she’s talking about.” But Mom knew exactly what she was talking about. [78] '
Specific knowledge is found much more by pursuing your innate talents, your genuine curiosity, and your passion. It’s not by going to school for whatever is the hottest job; it’s not by going into whatever field investors say is the hottest.
Very often, specific knowledge is at the edge of knowledge. It’s also stuff that’s only now being figured out or is really hard to figure out. If you’re not 100 percent into it, somebody else who is 100 percent into it will outperform you. And they won’t just outperform you by a little bit—they’ll outperform you by a lot because now we’re operating the domain of ideas, compound interest really applies and leverage really applies. [78]
The internet has massively broadened the possible space of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.
You can go on the internet, and you can find your audience. And you can build a business, and create a product, and build wealth, and make people happy just uniquely expressing yourself through the internet. [78]
The internet enables any niche interest, as long as you’re the best person at it to scale out. And the great news is because every human is different, everyone is the best at something— being themselves.
Another tweet I had that is worth weaving in, but didn’t go into the “How to Get Rich” tweetstorm, was very simple: “Escape competition through authenticity.” Basically, when you’re competing with people, it’s because you’re copying them. It’s because you’re trying to do the same thing. But every human is different. Don’t copy. [78] (*click to tweet)
If you are fundamentally building and marketing something that is an extension of who you are, no one can compete with you on that. Who’s going to compete with Joe Rogan or Scott Adams? It’s impossible. Is somebody else going to come along and write a better Dilbert? No. Is someone going to compete with Bill Watterson and create a better Calvin and Hobbes? No. They’re being authentic. [78]
The best jobs are neither decreed nor degreed. They are creative expressions of continuous learners in free markets.
The most important skill for getting rich is becoming a perpetual learner. You have to know how to learn anything you want to learn. The old model of making money is going to school for four years, getting your degree, and working as a professional for thirty years. But things change fast now. Now, you have to come up to speed on a new profession within nine months, and it’s obsolete four years later. But within those three productive years, you can get very wealthy.
It’s much more important today to be able to become an expert in a brand-new field in nine to twelve months than to have studied the “right” thing a long time ago. You really care about having studied the foundations, so you’re not scared of any book. If you go to the library and there’s a book you cannot understand, you have to dig down and say, “What is the foundation required for me to learn this?” Foundations are super important. [74]
Basic arithmetic and numeracy are way more important in life than doing calculus. Similarly, being able to convey yourself simply using ordinary English words is far more important than being able to write poetry, having an extensive vocabulary, or speaking seven different foreign languages.
Knowing how to be persuasive when speaking is far more important than being an expert digital marketer or click optimizer. Foundations are key. It’s much better to be at 9/10 or 10/10 on foundations than to try and get super deep into things.
You do need to be deep in something because otherwise you’ll be a mile wide and an inch deep and you won’t get what you want out of life. You can only achieve mastery in one or two things. It’s usually things you’re obsessed about. [74]
寻找并构建特定知识
销售技能是一种特定知识。
销售领域确实存在所谓的“天生好手”。在初创公司和风险投资领域中，你经常会遇到这样的人。当你遇到一个天生擅长销售的人时，你很容易察觉到他们的出色之处。他们在自己做的事情上表现得非常出色，这就是一种特定的知识。
显然，他们的技能来自某个地方，但并不是通过课堂学习获得的。或许他们在童年时，在学校的操场上学到了这些，或者是和父母讨价还价时掌握了这项技能。也许还有一部分来自于基因中的遗传因素。
但你是可以提升销售技能的。你可以阅读罗伯特·西奥迪尼的书籍，你可以参加销售培训研讨会，你可以做上门推销。这种经历非常艰难，但会让你迅速成长。你绝对可以提升你的销售技能。
特定知识无法教授，但可以学习。
当我谈论特定知识时，我指的是那些你在孩童或青少年时期几乎毫不费力就能做的事情。那些你甚至不觉得是技能的东西，但周围的人却注意到了。你的母亲或童年最好的朋友会知道。
一些你可能拥有的特定知识的例子：
→ 销售技能
→ 音乐天赋，能够轻松上手任何乐器
→ 痴迷的性格：你深入钻研某些事情，并且很快记住它们
→ 对科幻小说的热爱：你喜欢读科幻书，这意味着你能快速吸收大量知识
→ 玩很多游戏，因此你对博弈论有很好的理解
→ 喜欢八卦，深入挖掘朋友圈。这可能让你成为一名非常有趣的记者。
特定知识是你独特的 DNA、独特的成长环境和对这些环境的反应之间的奇妙组合。它几乎融入了你的个性和身份。然后你可以不断磨练它。
没有人能在做你自己这件事上与你竞争。人生大部分时间都在寻找谁和什么最需要你。
例如，我喜欢阅读，喜欢科技。我学习速度很快，但也很容易感到无聊。如果我进入了一个需要我花二十年时间在同一主题上钻研的职业，那对我来说并不合适。而我现在从事风险投资，这需要我非常迅速地掌握新技术（而且因为有新技术的出现，我感到无聊反而是有益的）。这非常契合我的特定知识和技能。[10]
我曾想成为一名科学家。这是我的很多道德观的来源。我认为科学家是人类生产链的顶端。那些做出真正突破和贡献的科学家们，可能为人类社会的进步做出的贡献比其他任何一个单一人类群体都多。我并不是要贬低艺术、政治、工程或商业，但如果没有科学，我们可能还在泥土中挣扎，用棍子打斗，试图点燃火种。
社会、商业和金钱都源于科技，而科技本身源于科学。应用科学是人类的引擎。
推论：应用科学家是世界上最强大的人。这一点在未来几年会更加明显。
我的整个价值体系是围绕科学家构建的，我曾想成为一名伟大的科学家。但当我真正回顾我独特擅长的事情以及我最终花时间做的事情时，更多的是赚钱、摆弄技术、向别人推销某些东西，以及解释事物、与人交谈。
我有一些销售技能，这是一种特定知识。我有一些分析如何赚钱的技能。我还有吸收数据、对其痴迷并将其拆解的能力——这是我独有的技能。我也喜欢摆弄技术。所有这些对我来说都像是在玩耍，但对别人来说却像是在工作。
对其他人来说，这些事情可能会很难，他们会问：“我怎样才能在表达和推销观点方面变得很出色？” 如果你本来就不擅长这些，或者不太喜欢这些，那可能这并不是你的方向——你应该专注于你真正喜欢的事情。
第一个指出我真正特定知识的人是我母亲。那是在厨房里随意说起的，当时我大概十五、十六岁。我在告诉我的一个朋友我想成为一名天体物理学家，而她却说：“不，你会进入商业领域。” 我当时心想：“什么？我妈妈居然说我会进入商业？我可是要成为天体物理学家的。妈妈不知道自己在说什么。” 但她完全知道自己在说什么。[78]
特定知识更多地是通过追随你的天赋、你的真正好奇心和热情找到的，而不是通过去学校学习那些热门的职业，也不是进入那些投资者说最有前途的领域。
特定知识往往位于知识的边缘。它也是那些现在才刚刚被探索出来，或者非常难以理解的东西。如果你不是百分之百投入其中，那么那些百分之百投入的人会远远超过你。他们不仅仅会比你做得好一点，而是会好很多，因为我们现在处于观念领域，复利和杠杆效应在这里发挥作用。[78]
互联网极大地拓宽了职业可能的空间。大多数人还没有意识到这一点。
你可以上网，找到你的受众。你可以创办一家公司，创造一个产品，积累财富，通过互联网以独特的方式表达自己，让人们感到快乐。[78]
只要你是某个领域最优秀的人，互联网就能帮助任何小众兴趣扩大规模。而好消息是，每个人都是不同的，每个人在某件事情上都是最优秀的——做自己。
我有一条推特值得提一下，但它没有出现在“如何致富”的推文中，那条推特很简单：“通过真实来逃避竞争。” 基本上，当你在与他人竞争时，是因为你在模仿他们，是因为你试图做同样的事情。但每个人都是不同的。不要模仿。[78] (*点击推文)
如果你在构建和推广某种本质上是你自我延伸的东西，那么没有人可以在这方面与你竞争。谁能与乔·罗根或斯科特·亚当斯竞争？这是不可能的。有人能写出比《迪尔伯特》更好的作品吗？不可能。有人能比比尔·沃特森创作出更好的《卡尔文与霍布斯》吗？不可能。他们在做自己。[78]
最好的工作既不是由人安排的，也不是靠学位获得的。它们是自由市场中持续学习者的创造性表达。
致富最重要的技能是成为一个持续的学习者。你必须知道如何学习任何你想学习的东西。旧的赚钱模式是上四年学，拿到学位，然后做三十年专业工作。但现在变化非常快。现在，你必须在九个月内掌握一门新职业，而四年后它就可能被淘汰。但是在这三年的高效期内，你可以获得很大的财富。
如今，能够在九到十二个月内成为一个全新领域的专家，比很久以前学过“正确”的东西要重要得多。你真正需要的是学习基础知识，这样你就不会害怕任何一本书。如果你走进图书馆，有一本书你看不懂，你需要深入挖掘，问自己：“学习这本书需要什么基础？” 基础知识至关重要。[74]
基本的算术和数学能力在生活中比微积分要重要得多。同样，能够用普通的英语简单表达自己比能写诗、拥有丰富的词汇量或掌握七种不同的外语更为重要。
懂得如何有说服力地表达自己比成为数字营销专家或点击优化专家更为重要。基础知识是关键。在基础知识上达到 9/10 或 10/10 比尝试深入研究某些东西更好。
你确实需要在某些事情上有深度，否则你就会显得广而不深，无法从生活中得到你想要的东西。你只能在一两件事情上达到精通。这通常是你痴迷的事情。[74]