Have you ever felt like you've got so much to give, so much knowledge to share, so many people you'd love to help but...
...I mean, who the fuck is going to listen to you right?
What do you know?
You've got no PHD, you probably haven't even got a degree.
You ain't shit!
At least that's what you tell yourself.
This is what's known as 'imposter syndrome'.
We all get it. Every single one of us. It comes with the territory.
But, if you want to tap into your most valuable resource (you), this is something that you need to come to terms with.
You see the most valuable asset you have is well, YOU.
Your skills. Your knowledge. Uniquely productized to add value to other peoples lives and serve others.
That's what I'm talking about.
Productizing yourself is a way to begin monetising your unique skills and talents and leveraging them at scale
This article is going to give you an introduction and show you how...
I recommend downloading the worksheets below:
What does productizing yourself mean?
“Productizing yourself” is where you monetise what you’re uniquely good at and what you enjoy at scale.
Put simply, you have a unique combination of skills and knowledge, plus frames of reference that can’t be emulated. They’re truly one of a kind, just like your fingerprint or DNA.
It’s this special cocktail that makes you invaluable.
But, you’ve got to know how to harness it, and you’ve got to know how to package it into something that people are willing to pay for, at scale (more on that later).
Why is productizing yourself a good idea?
If your job right now can be easily filled by another person (be honest!), chances are that in the next 20+ years your job will be automated away. It’s only a matter of time before machines will be able to do it for a fraction of the price (and probably do a better job too).
Productising yourself is a hedge against this.
And, it puts you in an open-ocean where nobody can compete with you, because you are, well…
...unique.
Take Oprah Winfrey for example.
Nobody can compete with Oprah.
You can’t start a chat show and try and be better at being Oprah than Oprah. She’s the only one. She sails in her own open-ocean.
If Oprah jacks it all in, there’s not anyone who’s going to step into her footsteps, that’s it.
She is the only one.
When you build a personal brand that's authentically aligned with what you're good at and what you enjoy (that also serves others), you create a unique value proposition that nobody can copy.
That’s the power of building a personal brand and using it to productize yourself.
How to start productizing yourself?
Firstly you need to uncover what it is that you’re authentically good at and enjoy doing.
This isn’t typically something that you’ll just know straight away (although for some it might), instead it’s a process. Oftentimes this will take months or years to refine the true value you can bring to the world.
Think of a sculptor...
They start out with a big lump of rock (you), and take to it with a hammer and chisel. Painstakingly they labour to reveal the masterpiece that lies beneath.
With each strike of the hammer getting closer to the finished product.
Uncovering the unique value you can bring to this world is the same. Many iterations, and countless pivots. Each time edging you closer to your unique value proposition to the world.
To help you find out what you're good at and how to align it with something other people want (and will pay you for) download the 'Productise Yourself' worksheet below.
Your life leaves a breadcrumb trail of clues behind you that give you insight into your real values and where your genius zone lies.
Ask yourself these questions:
Keep pivoting and refining and over time you'll get closer and closer to finding where that authentic value lies.
What can and can’t be productized?
Unfortunately, not everything can be monetised.
By productizing yourself you still have to give enough of a shit to make sure it helps people.
Ask yourself these three questions:
Your job as an entrepreneur on a quest to productize yourself is to find these unique opportunities to serve people, and to do it at scale.
Scaling up can be done with other peoples labour, technology, automation, code etc.
Ultimately, there are certain things that people are willing to pay money for, and certain things that they aren’t.
It's your job to find the products/services that will.
Conclusion
When you align what your good at and what you enjoy in a way that serves others by solving their problems and helping them achieve their desired outcomes from a place of authenticity, you become irreplaceable.
You become an invaluable product that’s unique and un-copyable.
Uncovering your unique productizable skillset takes time, patience and perseverance.
But holy fuck is it worth it.
Take a few minutes to go through the 'Productize Yourself' worksheet to get started.
Peace out.
Rowan.
P.S I’m still sculpting my way and uncovering how I can best serve the world with my unique talents, with this blog being my best effort to date.
I’m constantly honing my skills and finding ways to serve you in a manner that’s authentic to me and fully harnessing what I’m uniquely good at. I hope to get much better at this in the coming years.
Word to your mum.
