There are 5 skills that I learnt in my 20s that genuinely changed my life.
I'm 29 now, and of everything I did in my 20s, learning these 5 skills paid off the most.
They let me:
- Buy property in London
- Run a 30-person team in a top agency
- Build my current company completely remotely
It took me a long time to learn each of these, but ultimately I’m glad I did.
Each of these skills will give you an advantage, but when you combine them they become insanely valuable.
Skill 1: Core Skill
This first skill is the basis of everything you will do in your career.
I call this a Core Skill - a skill that:
- Is specialized
- Is in high demand
- Requires practice to master
For me, that core skill was coding, but that doesn't have to be yours.
You could learn UI or motion design, marketing, video editing, or whatever.
It just has to be a clear specialism that is in demand.
This skill has been responsible for at least half of my lifetime earnings.
But, the biggest benefit of a core skill isn't just the increase in earnings.
It's that this skill becomes your safety net.
It gives you the confidence to take risks because you know you're highly employable.
If a new project or business doesn't work out, you always have something to fall back on.
Most of the biggest jumps you make in life are a risk.
But when you have a safety net, you can take these risks more regularly and with more confidence.
Skill 2: Content Creation
With content, like coding, you can create something once and impact millions of people.
Code lets you solve problems with tools.
Content lets you solve problems with information.
And when you do, you build an audience - a group of people with the same interests and problems as you.
I realized the true power of content over the past few years.
I worked with big creators to launch businesses for their audiences.
For these creators, it didn't take months to get their first customers.
In fact, they could build 7-figure businesses basically at will.
They had already built an audience who had the same challenges as them and who trusted them.
So as soon as they solved those challenges with a business, they had customers.
The biggest winners of this generation will be those with an audience.
So, I knew I needed to start building mine.
And if you're not building yours, I'd suggest you start too.
Skill 3: Popularization
This next skill is one that I don't think many people even realize is a skill.
It's called popularization, which is the ability to make complex ideas easy to understand for everyone.
All the best educators, content creators, and salesmen are masters of this.
They can take complicated concepts and make them interesting, helping you to understand.
(Without making you feel like you're sitting through a lecture.)
This skill was something I slowly developed over the years selling software development.
As I got better at popularization, non-technical clients began to understand the details of projects more easily.
They knew what was involved in projects and why these steps were important, so they were able to get on board.
This meant more sales, more happy clients, and overall a much better business.
If you have a technical skill, I believe you can double your earnings just by being able to popularize it.
Skill 4: Sales & Pitching
What separates people who win clients or get promotions from those who don't?
One skill: Sales & Pitching.
I hate to break it to you, but even if you loathe the idea of sales, learning the basics will pay off more than almost anything else on this list.
I'll be honest, I am not a natural salesman.
I started attempting to sell when I was about 20 and I was horrific.
But I think like most skills, the best way to learn something is regular practice and feedback.
It can be pretty crushing at times, but if you keep trying to sell, you will slowly get better.
You'll find your style and what works for you and start to see results.
If you can simplify concepts and get people to buy into your ideas, then you really can achieve whatever you want.
Skill 5: Delayed Gratification
Now let's be real - none of these skills are easy to learn.
So how do you commit to learning them so that you can reap the benefits?
Well, that's where the last skill comes in: delayed gratification.
This is the art of focusing on the long-term results of your actions, not just the immediate rewards.
We live in a world where we have a constant supply of instant dopamine.
Everything is designed to train your brain to crave immediate rewards.
And unfortunately, almost everything worth doing doesn't work like that:
- Reading books isn't that exciting (but it's more effective for learning than reading on a screen).
- Learning coding isn't as fun as playing video games (but it'll give you far more opportunities long term).
Breaking this cycle of relying on instant entertainment isn't easy.
But it is possible.
And as you start to do it more, you'll find it not only gets easier, but more fun as well.
Summary
So, we've covered 5 skills that can change your life:
- A core skill
- Content creation
- Popularization
- Sales and pitching
- Delayed gratification.
All of these skills give you unique advantages or help you to build leverage.
So I'd recommend that you pick one and start practicing.
Remember that you won't always be consistent and that's ok.
You won't master any of them overnight, but over time your ability to create value will keep increasing.
The most important thing is just to never stop trying to improve.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this.
I hope you're having a great week.
- Tim