I’m in total agreement that your specialty, when you’re in your wheelhouse it’s a special thing.
An expertise of great value.
Who said ‘knows a lot about everything, is a master of none!’ – being in your wheelhouse is just the opposite.
What does Malcolm Gladwell say ‘to be an expert do something for 10,000 hours?’
The wheelhouse aboard an oceangoing ship can be a lonely place.
You really don’t want there to be any distractions. So generally people have to stay clear. This means for your 4 hours on watch it’s you and the helmsman who rotate between two people during the four hours. Then after eight hours away from the wheelhouse you all do it again for 4 hours.
Think about the interactions with other people on a daily basis. If you’re on a fourteen day voyage out at sea there are eight hours every day where you interact with the same two people for hours every day! There will be a visit by the Captain and possibly one or two others will stop by for a few minutes – that’s it.
Unless you were raised in a diverse community and attended public schools which were also diverse your ability to be aware of other cultures and their unique attitudes and views would continue to be missing. This might seem extreme however it is the daily life aboard an oceangoing ship.
How has your daily life been any different?
How many different people have you interacted with in your life?
Seriously – think about it?
Odds are you have stayed within a certain group of friends and relatives for most of your life. You gravitated to a college where the pattern continued – right?
If you met your spouse at college possibly the friends you both had there are the same friends you have now.
In your career who did you work closely with?
You get the point unless there was a need to have a diverse group it’s not something you generally sought out or even avoided. It just didn’t happen naturally so it didn’t happen.
Most of us are creatures of habit. Think about what you had for breakfast or lunch for the past week. Something different and unique to eat each day? Probably not!
Unless everyone at every age and on every side takes the time and makes the effort – one thing is for certain – nothing will change.
If you don’t want to speak – listen.
If you don’t want to march read – and read differing viewpoints.
If you want to grow and learn ask questions.
If you give money to something – check to make certain the money is going where you want it to go.
All I’m asking is you do one thing – engage.
Mitch Tublin is the CEO and Founder of Wenkroy International LLC a boutique consulting company with a main focus on adding value to people. Through Speaking, Training and Coaching we change lives. Our passion is to take people to the next level in their life and in their career or business.
