Finding Your Niche (Part Three of Nine)

As you narrow your focus from the broader market towards your niche, you will move from the internal world of the personal qualities of spiritual gifts and natural talent to the external world of knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is not found in the acquisition of knowledge, it is found in the application. Therefore, how you gather and process knowledge and translate it into actions has a lot to do with identifying your niche. As mentioned in part two of this nine part series, there are three major ways to gain knowledge. You gain knowledge through acquisition, experience, and observation. The next three articles will look at these three different sources respectively. As I move down the list, let me remind you of the nine aspects of a person's life that contributes to that person's niche. For this article, I am going to discuss the concept of acquired knowledge.Spiritual gifts
Natural talent
Acquired knowledge
Experiential knowledge
Observational knowledge
Temperament
Motivators
Drivers
PassionAcquired KnowledgeThe third aspect that will contribute to identifying your niche is the aspect of acquired knowledge. Acquired knowledge is structured teaching and instruction given in a formal learning environment. It is knowledge that is learned through formal education, mentoring, and parental engagement. Formal education is only part of the bigger picture. A recent staggering statistic shows that only 62.1 percent of college graduates work in a job that requires an undergraduate degree. Even more startling is that only 27.3 percent actually work in the field for which they went to college. Formal education, though providing you a base of knowledge, will not be the only compass by which you will search for your niche. Formal education is a positive experience insomuch as this is education of your choosing. Earning a college degree or being certified in a formal trade is positive learning. It is a proactive form of learning which means that you actively seek out the knowledge without the motivation of a recent failure or need to solve a complicated problem. In other words you choose to pursue education as opposed to being forced to have to learn from mistakes.Formal education began the day you were born. The first five to seven years are formative years. These years are mostly impacted by parental influence and engagement. Absent these influences, the child will be at a disadvantage. Once a child enters school, he or she begins to receive instruction about the world from the perspective of adults who have been certified to give formalized instruction. Parents must be involved in this process to guard against social indoctrination from educators who have differing social, political, and moral views. As the child enters young adulthood and the world of advanced education, he or she is ready to test all of the information gathered in the earlier years. The parents are the first form of formal knowledge and based on their engagement with the child, will provide the foundation for acquired knowledge. Then the child will be influenced in the formal education environment. Beyond formal education, there are other structured learning environments that will allow him to acquire knowledge. As important as it is to receive positive parental guidance in the formative years and to receive a good quality education in the elementary and secondary school years, You should not stop pursuing the gathering on information and the acquiring of knowledge. As you enter your adult years it is critical to identify and associate with others who can help you to grow in your knowledge. What parents are to children and teachers and educators are to school aged children, mentors are to young adults.A mentor takes on the dynamics of both parental engagement and formal education. Having a mentor (typically someone who is older than you and one who can impart wisdom on your situations), is one of the best ways to narrow your focus. A mentor seeks your best and is willing, and has you permission, to tell you that you are wrong. I have had the pleasure of being mentored by Dr. Bill Williams, a clinical psychologist, who has become a trusted friend over the years. Dr. Williams is thirty years my senior and has a vast amount of experience from which I can acquire knowledge. Having a mentor is vitally important to the acquisition of knowledge. It is also profitable for accountability, growth, and life balance. By having access to the experiences of another person, you gain the knowledge and insight from the perspective of someone who has grown up with different motivators, drivers, and passions. In addition to this knowledge, you can learn wisdom that has been gained through the practical application of the knowledge of your mentor. There is no advantage to having your best friend as your mentor unless your best friend can tell you that you are wrong and still remain your best friend.


Your mentors (and yes you should have more than one) should be older than you and should have experience in the areas in which you are being mentored. If you are seeking professional development, you will want to find a mentor who holds a position in the company where you can gain exposure. If you are starting a company, you will want to find someone who has gone through the process and has been successful. Finding someone in your industry is advantageous but not necessary. Your mentor should be a person of character. He or she should be someone you respect, admire, and can trust with your struggles. Your mentor is someone after whom you will pattern your life. Therefore, you want to ensure you are following a person with good moral standing. You and your mentor should have similar goals because as if your mentor is walking or has walked your path, there is a higher predictability of success.Another trait your mentors need to possess is the ability to be available. There is nothing better than having the best of the best as your mentor, but if he or she is unavailable, then all you really have is the appearance of a mentoring relationship. It defeats the purpose of the relationship if the person is never available. A successful relationship requires each party to be available on a consistent and purposeful basis. You need mentors who are open and honest and with whom you can be open and honest without judgment or condemnation. Being able to share personal experiences and information and to do so in a safe and confidential environment can allow you to create a genuine relationship. Finally, you want someone who believes in you. Someone who believes in you and your potential will be willing to invest the time, energy, and resources to help you realize that potential. All of this creates the environment where knowledge can be acquired.Acquired knowledge begins in your formative years where parental influence can shape the foundation of your ability to learn. Once that foundation is established, formal education provides a wealth of information that can be processed into acquired knowledge. As you transition from the formative years to the educational environment to the world of adulthood, you need to find mentors who can continue the learning process. Dysfunction in any of these environments can short-circuit your ability to attain the knowledge necessary to be confident with who you are and the gifts and talents you possess. Acquired knowledge is a combination of parental engagement, formal education, and mentoring. It has a high level of influence in your niche, but it is not the sole determiner. This knowledge must be brought together with the two other forms of knowledge; experiential knowledge and observational knowledge. In the next article, I will address the aspect of experiential knowledge and how the process of experience is critical to identifying your niche.