Subject: Developing your super powers
Location: South Beach, Florida
In part 1 we learned what power is. Here is a quick refresher:
Power literally means 'to be able'. In short, it means your ability.
To have 'power' over yourself means to have the ability to control yourself.
Control and ability.
So, what is a super power?
Does it mean you can fly? Have invincibility powers? Run like the flash? Swim like Aquaman? Become a meta-human?
No, no, no, no and no.
A super power is a skill you have achieved a level of mastery in.
There are six levels of skill. Novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, expert and master according to the Dreyfuss model.
The higher up the ladder you go, the more you harness your superpower.
Right now we will look over the six stages and how developing your superpower is essential to your life.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 1: Novice
Description: Gaining experiences. You are brand new. Follow the rules and principles set out from others. You have trouble interpreting events. You read instructions and you follow them.
Example of the novice:
- You want to start a business. You start reading a book and begin following its steps. Eventually, you make a mistake and upon realizing, you correct it. Everything you do is new and takes time for to process.
- You are cooking muffins from the box you bought at the store. You carefully look at the instructions and add the exact amount that they advise. You reread every step to make sure that it was correct.
- You are on your first two books on the subject or skill you are progressing in.
How to get to the next level: you need to carefully dissect your progress or have an instructor or coach that is further ahead of you lead you.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 2: Advanced Beginner
Description: You start to understand how rules change per context. Not every situation you are in is the same. You might follow one rule in this context, in another, it won't work. You have a few past references that begin to guide you forward. Still not sure what is truly important, and will rely on rules in general.
Example of an advanced beginner:
- You realize that the rules for making a blueberry muffin or a gluten free muffin are different.
- You have read a few books on the topics.
- You start to realize that every situation has different rules. Rarely, will you find rules that are completely universal.
- You are in sales, and the book says to immediately greet someone and ask them XYZ questions. At this point, you realize, that not every sales encounter will go this smoothly.
How to get to the next level: time, practice, experience, mistakes and continual self-observation and correction.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 3: Competent
Description: No more rule based thinking. Through your increasing number of experiences, you begin to notice themes and principles. You gain confidence in yourself. In the moving forward of your career and learning, you start to decide what to do for yourself. You reference your past experiences and consciously choose the next step and what to do. You are responsible for what you create. What keeps people at advanced beginner is that they don't take responsibility for work. To be competent you must be fully involved in the situation and realize the impact of your actions.
Examples of the competent:
- You fucked up making the blueberry muffins. It's your fault, and you take complete responsibility for it. You know enough about muffins to not make this mistake.
- You gained lots of experience in sales. Through this process, your brain noticed themes and principles. You are no longer led by distinct rules. Everything has a principle behind it.
- When you make a mistake in your skill, you realize it's 100% your fault. Not the instructors or the book you read.
How to get to the next level: taking responsibility for your mistakes. Having a plethora of experience in your skill. Understanding what you did wrong and how to correct it and move forward. Time.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 4: Proficient
Description: Intuition kicks it. You get an internal nudge to do certain actions at specific times. You do them and they turn out well. Almost to your surprise. There is a 'knowing' of what needs to be done to move forward. Your skill is now in your bloodstream. It's tough to articulate it, but you can look at a situation and know what needs to be done.
Examples of the proficient:
- You can predict situations will happen in the future.
- You feel the heat from the oven and realize that it has more pressure than the one you have back home. You intuitively know how many blueberries to place, and to take the muffins out early.
- You have been to many different sales situations. Almost every type of bizarre and regular context, you have experienced.
How to get to the next level: Time. Experience. This stage can take many years. It requires tons of experiences and developing your intuition.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 5: Expert
Description: Immediate and accurate intuitive understanding of every situation. Everything has become so ingrained that you know exactly what to do yet cannot explain it well. From the outside, everything you do is effortless and fluid, like water. Improves only through self-awareness. Simply many steps into one seamless action. An expert is truly a super power. You know immediately what to do in any situation.
Examples of the expert:
- Not looking at any type of muffin box for direction. Knowing exactly how many blueberries, flour, and sugar to mix. Doing it fast and precise, intuitively.
- In sales, you can close anyone at any time. Someone looking at you doing your thing will be shocked. You break all the rules yet follow all of them.
- If asked how do you did that, your brain will find it challenging to answer, even creating doubt in yourself. This is unconscious deeply ingrained knowledge of your topic.
How to get to the next level: rarely do people ever go beyond this. You can get stuck here for 10-15 years. The only way to get to the next level is time, experience, deep reflection, and having the correct mindset that will be open to the next level.
Developing Your Super Powers
Level 6: Master
Description: A master is an expert that is absolutely on fire but at all times. When a master is at work, people stop what they are doing and watch. It's an absolute beauty. This is genius level. Unlike the expert, the master can immediately put himself in the novice's shoes and give direct instruction. Masters are very rare. You are guaranteed to remember them when you have an opportunity to meet them. Masters have a unique style per person.
Examples of the master:
- Michael Jordan, grandmaster chess players, Da Vinci, Steph Curry shooting a basketball.
- An ability to go into 'deep absorption mode' where they go beyond their regular abilities.
- A great mentor or mentee to anyone at any stage in the process.
- They are in uncharted territory.
- They sell without selling. They play chess without playing. Cook with ease, yet create perfection. Masters at their craft.
- Their skill is a part of their complete identity, at the deepest level of their soul.
There is no next level after master. Only further mastery.
Developing your Super Powers
What are yours?
What skills do you have?
- Web design?
- Marketing?
- Copywriting?
- Social skills?
- Body language?
- Public speaking?
- Vocal tonality?
- Knowledge in a specific subject?
The options are endless.
Scott Adams has an incredible idea about skills. He calls them a skill stack.
The more skills that are in your stack, the more likely you will become successful.
What skills can you develop to mastery? Others to proficient?
To be powerful in life, you must raise your personal value.
The more valuable you are, the more powerful and influential you can become.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What is my greatest skill?
- What stage am I currently in?
- What do I need to do in order to reach the next level?
Write yours down in the comments.
Thank you for reading.
-Daniel