Got you!
If you're reading these words, then you failed my test.
But, if you keep reading, I'll teach you how to pass it.
Let me explain...
I get it...
- You saw this article's title show up in your newsfeed.
- You clicked on it in order to find out what skills are valuable to learn.
- We all want to know what skills to learn in order to lead a more successful career.
But, here's the thing...
You're not going to find the most valuable skills to learn by reading articles about "trending" skills.
Investing in a trending skill is like investing in a stock everyone already believes will be successful. Your return on investment is diminished because you're competing against a lot of other people.
No one becomes rich in the stock market over the long-term by investing in trends. Similarly, no one becomes successful by always jumping from trending skill to trending skill.
Most people focus on finding useful skills that everyone agrees are important. Successful people learn the most important skills that FEW people agree are important.
Ultimately, the value of a skill in a market economy is determined by the following equation:
Skill Value = Usefulness * Rareness
This formula explains why you'd get paid almost nothing for learning CPR even though it's a life-saving skill. And, it explains why a talented computer programmer with experience in autonomous driving systems could be worth millions.
It all comes down to supply and demand.
And, you don't need to take my word for it. Just listen to the world's top investors...
"Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett
"The best projects are likely to be overlooked, not trumpeted by a crowd; the best problems to work on are often the ones nobody else even tries to solve." — Peter Thiel
"You can't make money agreeing with the consensus view." — Ray Dalio
"In order to get into the top of the performance distribution, you have to escape from the crowd." – Howard Marks
So now that we have that established, let's ask ourselves the key question...
What Are The Most Valuable Skills To Learn?
I believe the answer is building mental models of meta-skills like:
- Prioritization
- Decision-Making
- Learning How To Learn
- Communication
These are skills that you use EVERY single day and that are critical. Therefore, if you can improve at prioritization, decision-making, learning, or communication just a little bit, the results will compound throughout your entire life. This is in opposition to a skill like French, which I spent 6 years studying in school and have only used a handful of times and just for fun.
These skills also don't get outdated. It's hard to imagine a world where people suddenly decide that prioritization or learning are not important. If anything, they will only become more important. You don't just want the most in-demand skill for 2019. You want to learn the skills that will be the most valuable skills for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and beyond.
Yet, surprisingly few people are even aware that these are skills. There are almost no courses on these in colleges and universities.
This is the reason why I co-founded the Mental Model Club...
- Every month, we create a 15,000 word Mastery Manual and teach a 90-minute session on a new mental model / meta-skill.
- We believe that teaching others about the most important mental models and meta-skills is the way that we can have the biggest impact.
- Running the club forces me to spend 4-6 hours per day identifying the most important mental models and applying them to my life.
In other words, I've put my time where my mouth is.