How to Become a Maven (Mr. Know Everything)

Maven is the term used by Malcolm Gladwell in his best-seller book The Tipping Point. This is one of three types of people who can trigger “social epidemics” (the other types are connector and salesman). In short, maven is the “Mr. Know Everything”. If you are a maven of gadgets for example, you will know about all gadgets and all their functionalities. Maybe you can even tell the exact type of a gadget you touch without opening your eyes ! Cool right ?

The problem is, nowadays there are more and more reason that we all need to become a maven in our field. Well, at least if you want to distinguish yourself and be priced high by the market. Remember the economic law, less supply and more demand will increase the price. If you can get through the barrier and become one of the few mavens, then market will surely price you high.

Of course, being a maven is not easy. It’s very hard in fact, and that’s why there are very few mavens in any respective fields. But the good news is, it’s always possible for us to become one. Here is how:

Have passion
To become a maven, you must choose a field you are passionate about. There is big difference between those who do something because they love it and those who do it just because they must. Passion will make your learning process a fun and joyful one. You will be several times more productive in learning because everything is so fun. Furthermore, passion will make you impressive in your writing and speech because of the energy and excitement you transfer to the audience. Your audience will be excited about your topic only as much as you are excited about it.
Have focus
Focus is an absolute condition for becoming a maven. The road to become a maven is very, very long. Research shows that it takes approximately 10 years of heavy labor to become a master in any field. If we don’t have focus then we will very possibly get distracted by other things along the way. So have focus. Always direct your effort toward your goal.
Have good resources
It’s essential to have good resources. Your input determines your output. Select carefully what you read, listen, and watch. If you let yourself accumulating only gold then people will find that they will also receive gold from you. So choose the best books, the best web feeds, the best videos, and the best podcasts in your field to be your resources. Overtime, don’t forget to evaluate your resources. If you find that something is decreasing in value then don’t be hesitate to remove it. Allow only the best resources to fill your precious time and mind.
Have discipline
As I’ve said above, research shows that it takes approximately 10 years of heavy labor to become a master. It means that you must work hard, and do it continously for long period of time. While passion will surely help you to stay motivated along the way, discipline is still irreplaceable. There times when we feel uncomfortable or simply lazy. Discipline is required to keep us doing our part whether we like it or not, whether we are in good mood or not. Remember, small things accumulated continously over long period of time will become a mountain.
Share to others
Believe it or not, by sharing to others we will receive more and more. So don’t keep all you’ve learned for yourself. Help others, share to others, and contribute to the society. You will find that you can learn more from other people. Futhermore, the flow of new ideas will never stop within you.