What is the difference between getting an education and acquiring a skill? And why is there an increasing emphasis on the latter?
If you ask these questions, then this is for you.
Life skills, high-income skills, technical skills, social skills, and whatever adjective gets attached to the word. Understanding what skills are and why you should possess them is indispensable to your survival and eventual thriving on this planet.
It is not pleasant to hear that our three, four, five, or six years in college in addition to maybe a total of sixteen pre-college would be a waste of time if we don’t accompany it with the right skills. However, that is the truth staring at us right in the face.
Acquiring skills borders on two things – relevance and enablement. Society today places a high premium on the person who has mastered how to muster the resources required to achieve his set goals – the person who gets things done.
The right skillset enables you to achieve your goals and dreams
Skills, not just a certificate from ivory towers, are the actual empowerment. The reason there is a disjoint relationship between what we get in our institution’s educational system and the skills we need to live is that our life experiences are personalized.
The educational system assumes a flat line that is common to every experience and tries to build on that. However, we all know that’s not entirely true.
Every human being has different experiences even in the same situation.
What is for A is not precisely the same for B. In essence, what education does successfully is to lay a foundation for you – a better vantage for you to achieve your specific dreams. However, you can’t arrive at that dream destination without a combination of relevant skills. Your skillset is to you what a toolbox is to an engineer.
To be relevant is to be skilled
In one way or the other, we are all searching for relevance. Either on a global podium or just our small community, we all seek to attain prestige and leave a legacy of some sort in this world. To make the pursuit more interesting, the world is in a state of flux. What matters today did not matter yesterday and may not matter tomorrow.
What you know and can do now is your ticket to a seat on the fast-moving train of importance.
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This is why your skills, not your education, makes you relevant.
Let’s put simply – education (or knowledge) is like the money you have in the bank. Skills are those paper notes you have with you that you can spend immediately, the exchange power you have to obtain for your needs. While having money in the bank is definitely a great thing, unless you have quick access to your bank account, you will be unable to access the many things in life.
What about Talents?
‘Talent is never enough‘
John C. Maxwell
Your inborn ability to do something cannot guarantee you the life you will want to lead. Cutlasses have the inherent ability to cut but they have to be sharpened for them to retain relevance.
Your talents will naturally set you apart but they won’t keep ahead. When talent is matched with appropriate skills, the combination is almost unstoppable.
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If what you know can not translate to what you can do or offer, then your usefulness is close to nought.
Skills are the hard currency you trade in the marketplace of existence. Interestingly, if your education cannot translate to skills, it is as useless as an expired or outdated form of currency.
Education arms you with what to know. Talents are what you should be able to do. Skills are what you are capable of doing.
And so, the big question, WHAT are your skills?
Do you possess the skill set that will enable you to achieve your set goals and make your dreams a reality?
The good news is that we all have the intrinsic ability to learn and acquire skills. No one can prevent you from getting skilled up. Make it your life long goal to keep acquiring skills.
Take advantage of the internet and the vast opportunities available and get relevant and enabled to achieve your dreams.
The sky is your starting point.
Thrive!
{Related: Skills to Help You Become a Better Team Player}
How do intend to take advantage of the internet and the vast opportunities available to achieve your dreams? Think about this and share this post with others if you find it helpful.
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