Your Expertise is Enough

Courtney Elmer - 00:00

Something I see a lot lately in the entrepreneurial space is the belief that you need more experience or expertise before you can pursue a big goal that you want to pursue, like writing a book or starting a podcast. And today, I'm going to prove to you why this just isn't true and why the expertise that you have right now, no matter where you are in online business, is enough to go after whatever it is that you want to accomplish. That's all coming up next, so stay tuned.

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Courtney Elmer - 01:02

Welcome back. You're listening to AntiFragile Entrepreneurship™. This is episode 174. And something I'm seeing so much in the online space is this belief that expertise comes from knowledge. The more I know, the more of an expert I am. But the question I have for you today is, how much of an expert do you have to be before you take a big step toward something that you really want to do? Like writing a book or starting your podcast, or giving a TED talk or online business?

There's a very common school of thought in the entrepreneurial world that expertise comes from knowledge. The more you know, the more of an expert you are.

Courtney Elmer - 01:44

And if you don't know enough, then you can't call yourself an expert yet. But how much knowledge constitutes you being an expert? How much knowledge is enough before you can call yourself an expert? How do you know when it's enough? Those questions alone should already get your wheels turning.

Questioning whether this industry norm is actually true or if it's something you're just choosing to believe because maybe there's a deeper fear there of you putting yourself out there. Because here's the thing, today's respected thought leaders, sure, they know a lot, but they didn't become respected thought leaders because they knew a lot.

Courtney Elmer - 02:26

They became respected thought leaders because they shared what they knew when they knew it, however much or how little it was to help others. And it's been the thing that's gotten them to where the thought leaders are today, not the knowledge itself, but the sharing of that knowledge.

Look at Amy Porterfield; if you've been in the online business space for any length of time, you know her name. You know what she's about. I remember Amy, I started following her almost 10 years ago when I was working a side hustle along my 9-5 job, trying to learn how to build an email list and what the heck it even meant to market your business. 10 years ago, very few people knew Amy's name. And 10 years ago, I guarantee you that Amy didn't know nearly as much about online business as she does now.

Courtney Elmer - 03:18

But there she was, sharing what she did know to help me find my footing. And guess what? It helped me a lot because she was just a few steps ahead of where I was. But because she was a few steps ahead, that meant that she knew how to get to where I wanted to go. So I learned a lot from Amy in those early days, and I will always remember her as one of my very first guidesand thought leader. Because being a thought leader is not about how much you know. It's about how willing you are to share what you know to help others.

Courtney Elmer - 03:58

And the belief that you're not an thought leader doesn't come from not knowing enough. Believing you're not an expert yet comes from a deeper fear of judgment, abandonment, and rejection. And I know this because this is the fear that kept me from showing up fully for years. 

Thinking that I needed to take just one more course or listen to another podcast or subscribe to someone else's email list or buy one more software tool or hire one more coach or start following another expert online. To learn whatever it was, I was telling myself I needed to learn before I could launch my course or start my podcast or sell my one-on-one coaching or build my email list.

Courtney Elmer - 04:48

When the reality is, how many people are out there right now in your niche who know less than you but who are wealthier and more successful than you? Do you think every multi-million dollar coach or top-ranked podcast host, or best-selling author would have become an expert at their craft just by reading about writing or getting coached on how to coach people, or listening to podcasts about podcasting?

The people who delay doing the things they want to do, like writing a book or starting that podcast, delay them because of this deeper fear. They're worried that doing these things will expose them as not enough of an expert. And the thought of that is what keeps them from putting themselves out there. Because if that were to happen and that would hurt the reputation that they're working so hard to build, which is so ironic, 

Because the thing that's keeping you from being seen as become an expert right now is not writing that book or not starting your podcast, or not publishing that piece of content. How do I know?

Courtney Elmer  - 06:08

Because the people out there who know less than you but who are writing and podcasting and publishing are getting all of the attention, and you're not. Today's experts aren't experts because they know more than you. They're seen as experts by world standards because they're the ones out there sharing what they know. How else would we know what they know if they didn't share it?

Would we see them as become an expert if they were just regurgitating other people's information and not sharing their own? Not to mention, let's look at the money that you're leaving on the table because if you're putting off your dreams because you believe that you're not enough of become an expert yet, people are going to continue to choose others in your niche to work with over you. They won't even know you exist.

So those other people, your competitors, will continue to get the recognition and the sales while you get really annoyed and even resentful. Do you think every best-selling author or top-ranked podcast host knew everything about writing a bestseller or hosting a top-ranked podcast when they started? No.

So it's time to give up the belief that you can't do something you want to do because you quote-unquote aren't an expert yet. Your expertise is enough because experts aren't made in the classroom. They're made in the field. So think about that. Next time you tell yourself, I'm not ready yet.

Courtney Elmer - 07:54

Or do I need to know more before I can do that? Or next time your finger hovers over that buy button for that next $27, $47 course that's supposed to teach you how to do this thing or that thing. Do you really need it? Or is what you need to do to simply start sharing what you know and helping others from where you are?

Alright, my friend, that's all for today. I want you to marinate on this when you walk away from this episode. Because, unlike other online business podcasts, my goal on this show is not to overwhelm you with more action items to add to your to-do list.

Courtney Elmer - 08:29

You've got plenty on your list already. My only goal with this show is to help you think about your online business differently. Differently, than you've been thinking about it. So you can begin to create real leverage. So you can begin to develop the mindset of an antifragile entrepreneur. What does that mean when we face adversity? Do we succumb to it?

Courtney Elmer - 08:54

Do we play the victim? Or are we the victor? So, lot to think about. And here's the thing, as a podcast host, I know you're listening. But I would love to be able to continue this conversation with you outside of this podcast. So, if you're not already following me on Instagram, come connect with me there. You can find me @thecourtneyelmer and shoot me a DM anytime you listen to an episode that inspires you.

Courtney Elmer - 09:20

If I said something today that made you think differently, I'd love for you to let me know. If you've been listening to the show for a while but haven't left a review yet, it would mean the world to me if you would. Take 60 seconds, scroll down in your Apple app, and just type 1 sentence to let me know how this show is impacting you.

Next week we're going to be talking about how to turn your trials into triumphs. Because Lord knows we all face adversity daily in our life, whether it's the little things that build up in a day, or whether it's big stuff like an unexpected diagnosis, or your family gets COVID out of nowhere, or you lose a team member, and you're scrambling to cover their workload. Whatever it is, Next week, we're going to show you how you can take that moment of difficulty and turn it into an opportunity.

So join me back here next week, and until then, let's go out and grow through what we go through together.