Professional success: Avoid becoming a dinosaur

Being good at what you do, like so many of the factors that make for high achievement in golf and other endeavors, has to be worked at and developed and polished on a continual basis. Forget about finally finishing your education. Being successful means getting better today and throughout your life.

Nicklaus continued: “I think the big thing about doing anything is striving to improve everyday. I’m learning new shots every day. “

Which new shots or skills do you need to learn? Which ones are you trying to improve? Are you keeping up with the hot areas in your technical field? Do you have the skills to remain, not only employable, but also to thrive in your career? If you --- your skills and competencies ---don’t grow, improve, and evolve you too, as in nature, will face extinction. You will become a professional dinosaur.

It’s up to you to make sure you are continually improving, growing, and getting better. It’s up to you to make sure you never go out of style! It’s up to you to practice life long learning. Therefore,

Have a learning perspective.
Be on the lookout for teachable moments. Approach each learning experience, whether you want to be there or not, with the questions: What can I learn? What one or two things can I take away that I can use immediately? Who else would find value in this learning?

Benchmark your skills periodically.
Do it at least once a year. And, for those in a fast moving profession or industry every three months may be required. In other words, what’s in your work portfolio? Is it filled with skills or competencies that are up-to-date and sought after? Or, is it filled with skills which are obsolete and, therefore, not very portable?