Below that, you pay others to do these thingsthats what I call the value line.

So how do careers play into this idea?

A career is simply one area where youve carefully crafted a skill to be far above the value line.

Learn new skills, and youll find more opportunities to be above the value line.

This post originally appeared onThe Simple Dollar.

My father was alwaysa jack of all trades kind of guy.

He was an absolute stellar gardener.

He could repair a lot of different things as well.

Some of his friends and relatives had those skills to an even greater degree.

He had friends that were functional carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and many other things.

They ran strange little microbusinesses and always seemed to be dabbling in something different.

As I grew older, I viewed going to college and building a career as essential.

I tended to view my father and particularly his friends as oddities in terms of their professional approach.

They really didnt have a career in any clear way that I could see.

They just did … things … and seemed to make ends meet.

So, I went off to college.

I built a career.

And, before too long, what did I find myself doing?

I built a side business.

Eventually, I walked away from that career and started focusing on the side business.

I built several otherside businesses and income streamsas well.

Today, how do I spend my day?

So, what happened?

What caused that transition?

I attribute a lot of the shift to something that I call the value line.

Below that, theres a level of skill where you pay others to do these things.

The line that divides the two is what I call the value line.

Let me give you an example: plumbing.

An experienced plumber is one who could handle basically any home plumbing problem without much problem.

Water is flooding the basement?

A plumber can figure out that problem and fix it.

Obviously, an experienced plumber can handle their own home plumbing problems.

you’re free to make a similar example from almost anything in life.

Some people make popular YouTube videos, while others watch them.

Some people make meals that others are willing to pay for, while others order food at a restaurant.

The people that make money in those situations are above the value line.

The people that spend money are below the value line.

For example, my earlier career involved computer analysis of research data.

Heres the thing, though.

I was (and still am) far from the best computer programmer in the world.

This is true of almosteverycareer path out there.

Almost every career path is made up of a fairly handful of similar skills that a person has honed.

They stand out within that career pack by honing just those skills even further.

The more projects you complete, the better.

The more career-specific skills it’s possible for you to list on your resume, the better.

A manufacturing firm isnt going to care about your skills if theyre not manufacturing related.

Youre also primed to move to a completely different career if thats the way the wind is blowing.

The more skills you have that are above the value line, the better.

Five Strategies for Building Skills and Finding Your Value Line

How can you use this knowledge?

Here are five strategies I employ for building up value line skills in my busy life.

Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean.

Being conversant in a language is a great example of an above the value line kind of skill.

Another example might come fromlearning to play the guitar.

This whole strategy works for almost any skill you might be trying to pick up.

Its very hard to put your first crude steps of skill learning into any bigger context.

Rather than just writing a Hello world!

computer program, work on writing a piece of software thats useful to you.

There are two reasons for this.

Youre taking steps toward that every time you work on it.

If you choose to take on a project,carry that project to completion.

There are two reasons why people abandon a project.

One is that the project proved more difficult than they thought.

The other is that they feel their skills and time are better used elsewhere.

Being able to stick with something and carry it through to the end is an invaluable skill.

Not only that, its thecompletedprojects that you genuinely want to polish up and share with other people.

Lets say youve decided to make informative videos on a particular topic of interest to you.

This allows you to learn video production skills as well as dig deeper into your topic of interest.

It doesnt even need to be good in your eyes, as long as it conveys the message.

Youll be glad you did.

Its not a secure professional leap.

If you work on building plumbing skills, it’s possible for you to fix your home plumbing emergencies.

you’ve got the option to do things like replacing a faucet or fixing a leaky sink.

Trust meId rather make food for myself at home than eat out because the stuff at home tastes better.

These arent life-changing things, but they can really add up to make a difference.

It can save you a lot of money in your day-to-day life.

The source of all of it is having a healthy set of skills above the value line.

Good luck in exceeding the value line as many times as you’re able to.

Image byMacrovector(Shutterstock).

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