Can You Become the Best in the World at What You Do?

Is it possible for you to become the best in the world at what you do?

If your answer is a quick heck yes, it’s probably because you have positioned yourself into a slice of the world where you know you can be the best (if you aren’t already).

Because it would be hard to be say, the best consultant in the world or the best marketing consultant in the world.

But you certainly could become the best marketing consultant in the world to U.S. middle market food companies looking to break into Japan.

It all depends how you define “the world”.

Here’s the thing (tip of the hat to Seth Godin and “The Dip”): if you can’t see a way to become the very best in the world at what you do, then slogging through the dip—the desert to get to the oasis—will never be worth the effort because you’ll quit when it gets too hard.

(Which BTW is also a sure path to mediocrity and a business that never jells.)

Instead, you’re better off turning around and finding something better. Something more worthy of your talents.

Say you’ve been honing your skills as a marketing consultant: first with a bank, then with a food company, a hospital chain, a law firm and a local arts group.

How are you any closer to being the best in the world with a handful of scattershot clients and projects?

Uh, you’re not (and you’re probably struggling to build a pipeline).

But what if the food company work really grabbed you and you decided to look for more food-based clients?

And you did work for a couple of the big players, but then discovered that marketing smaller cult brands was more your thing.

And you got really, really good at turning promising new foods into cult brands.

Then the weeks, months and years to practice your craft and build a thriving specialized business would feel worth every challenging step.

So I’ll ask you again: can you become the best in the world at what you’re doing now?

Related: How Not to Make Your Offerings Look Like Commodities