I was reading The Forward in a book today, written by someone I truly admire.

The Forward (By the Mentor of the Author) spoke about how most books have little ambition beyond catching the attention of a potential reader.

Essentially, they are shallow, superficial, and provide little value.

Those are my words, but that was the sentiment being expressed.

It made me think about the different Stages that I see in others' Careers.

I have noticed over the years, that there are people whose work I used to find powerful...

However, seeing them today I think otherwise.

The Quality of their work, and further the Quality of their Career, I find lacking.

This has nothing to do with the level of Success these individuals have - many of them have had tremendous Success in their Career.

However, as I think about the Quality of their work, I shrug.

In thinking about this, I came up with 8 Stages that show the Quality of a Career.

They are both a Path that we must go through to Grow in a Career, but also a revealer of the Quality someone has attained.

In Reality, though, few people make it very far down the Path.

Most people give up in the first 3 Stages.

Those who don't give up often settle into the middle 2 Stages.

Rarely does anyone go into the final 3 Stages.

Discovery

The first Stage we all must go through is the Discovery Stage.

This is gaining the first insight that something Exists.

Even if you have "heard" about it before, this is more about the moment where it grabs your Interest.

For me, I remember it very clearly.

It was reading the book, "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth" by John Maxwell, quickly followed by "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership".

I had "heard" about Leadership before, but mostly only understood it as a "Position" within a Hierarchy.

Maxwell's work was my first inkling that Leadership was a significantly bigger topic and problem than I realized and that I knew I needed to do something about.

This tends to be extremely Exciting for most people.

But that Excitement needs to move beyond a Feeling.

Learning

If you ever hope to stand on the Shoulders of Giants, you must understand what the Giants understood.

This becomes the Learning Stage.

The tendency is to consume as much information as we can get our hands on.

In today's world, this is very easy to accomplish due to how widespread Information has become.

However, this widespread Information is both a Blessing and a Curse.

To the Learner, you must sift through what is Valuable from what is outdated, invalid, and short-sighted.

Unfortunately, this can be very hard to do, and sometimes people rush through this step.

In the rush to "get further", the ability to develop a Quality Career becomes blocked.

If you rush this Stage, the furthest you can make it is the next Stage which is part of why SO many people never make it past it.

Proving

At this Stage, people are Vehement about Proving they know something.

Some people are very convincing too, and can even have high levels of Success here.

I remember seeing someone offering a certification course in a "Holy Breath" who was making $10k per certified individual.

However, when you looked at "what" they were teaching, there was no Quality to it.

They were desperate to "Prove" they had something, without really knowing what it was they had.

What they had wasn't Impressive when you understand Psychophysiology.

Like I said, you can have Success without Quality, it happens all the time in our world.

There is a great quote I've heard about this before.

"To a Third Grader, a Fifth Grader is a god."

What does the Fifth Grader know?

Really nothing impressive.

But if they "Prove" how "Cool" they are to enough Third Graders, well they can seemingly run the school.

However, there is a response I have to this.

"If you never progress past Fifth Grade, you stop being Cool."

This is why most people never make it beyond this point.

People get stuck trying to "Prove" what little they have, and when others realize there is a lack of Quality, the individual stops being "Cool".

The crash from this disappointment often is too much for the individual.

The other route I see here often is that of the Cult of Personality.

The Fifth Grader can make themselves remain appearing "Cool" as long as they figure out a way to prevent others from gaining better information and get the Third Graders addicted either chemically or emotionally.

In my opinion, these Individuals tend to have the most potential to harm others, and sadly I see it too frequently.

Many desperate people get caught in these Cults that don't provide real Quality anything.

However, eventually, all Cults are discovered.

Understanding

However, if you want a truly Quality Career, you must move past Proving.

You must come to have a DEEP Understanding of what you know.

This means you must Understand WHY things work or don't work.

Few people actually have an Understanding of what they do.

It's why there are so many "One Hit Wonders" in the world.

Anyone can have Success in a limited field, but can your Success continue beyond that?

Can you apply that Understanding in different ways?

When people pose Questions and Challenges to what you do, can you move past those Objections?

If you can't, you don't Truly Understand.

This became very apparent when most people tried to emulate Google Offices after it was revealed that Google had things like "Table Tennis" and "Slides" in their Offices.

Many people tried to "Copy" that in their Offices, but didn't "Understand" the "Why" behind it all.

In most Organizations, copying Google's Offices has had no Benefits, and often has caused more Problems!

Without TRUE Understanding, your ability to achieve Quality will always be hindered.

If you ever ask someone "Why", and they say, "I don't know" or, "Because it does", you are speaking with someone without Understanding.

Mastery

Once you have a Deep Level of Understanding, you eventually reach Mastery.

Now, YOU can't grant yourself into this Stage.

Those who are already Masters will simply Accept you.

It's kind of like a Club, except the only way to get in is through Merit.

Let me also be clear - having "Awards" does not always indicate Merit.

Trust me, I have won and been nominated for 26 Awards, and I can tell you which ones have any Real Value and which ones are just "Pretty".

Real Merit is earned through Experience, through Proof.

These Individuals would be what you call "Exemplars".

They Live their Life completely according to their Values and Beliefs.

People are attracted to these individuals because they have an aligned Psychophysiology.

Literally, they are Exuding True, Earned Confidence - a factor of their Neurocardiology.

Masters have Nothing to Prove - they simply LIVE it.

They have a command of their Expertise that is simply Undeniable.

This I would say is the first real Stage where someone has a Quality Career that can last them a lifetime.

There is nothing wrong with stopping on the Path right here.

Many people do, and they live Amazing Lives.

But, for a few Individuals, this isn't enough.

They want to go Beyond, into the Unknown.

If they choose the next Stage, they will enter the most difficult Stages that exist.

It can be Incredibly rewarding, but not without Trials far more challenging than anything they can conceive.

Create/Innovate

This Stage is where People begin to Build the Future.

What we have now might be great... but What If?

Their grasp of their Career allows them to adjust, mix, and add things that few would think about.

It requires you to see what works, break it, fix it, and build on it to see if there are better ways.

It can be difficult because most Ideas will fail.

If you want to remain in this Stage and hope to get to the next, you need to have Realistic Expectations about how Creation/Innovation works.

The Reality is that, if you're Lucky, Ideas will only work 10% of the time.

The more Complex or Further You Go that number can quickly decrease.

It is common to have less than 1% Success in this Stage.

But if you do gain Success in this Stage, you'll gain Insights that people may never have had before.

When you truly Create/Innovate, you begin to BECOME a Giant instead of just Standing on the Shoulders of other Giants.

However, there is a difficulty here as well.

As you become a Giant, you get seen more.

The more you are seen, the more you are Questioned.

Pressure begins to build up Quickly.

If you thought things were tough BEFORE, you'll be in for a Rude Awakening.

When you are in the "Proving" Stage, you only have to convince people who don't "really" know much.

When you are in the "Create/Innovate" Stage, you will have Masters Questioning everything you do.

Masters Ignore those who are trying to "Prove" themselves.

Masters DEMAND Answers from those who are Creating and Innovating.

If you can't figure out how to handle the Pressure, it might be enough to Crush you.

It is common at this point for people to bow out, and it makes sense.

But if you can get to the next Stage, you'll become something rarely seen.

Sage

When Experts are stuck, they will look to a Sage.

This is the Stage where you have Created/Innovated and now are recognized for it.

You have grasped onto something few people fully understand.

Even if you try to Explain it to others, it can still be very difficult to Grasp.

Nuances exist that Sages see, but few others can even notice.

In Martial Arts, these are the people who "Move" before danger is obvious.

They can wear a Blindfold and "Sense" what is happening.

Now, to others it may seem like "Magic" or a "Trick", but the Sage understands that it isn't.

Sound, Neurocardiology, Breathing, Subtle Direction of Movement, and even the surrounding Air can all be Indicators of what is coming.

They are just attuned to certain aspects that others are not yet.

It's not Impossible to Learn what Sages understand, but it tends to be a difficult journey.

However, there is one danger of the Sage Stage.

You're still in the Game.

As long as there are Masters who are seeking to Create/Innovate, you will be Challenged.

Some Sages lose sight that they are still in the Game, and eventually wonder why no one goes to them anymore.

Another Sage has risen, and you have gone back to the Mastery Phase.

If you ever Hope to get to the final Stage, you must remain a Sage, continue pushing the boundaries, continue Creating/Innovating.

The highest Recognized Sages understand they play an Infinite Game.

As long as they remain, they have the Opportunity to reach the final Stage.

Legend

There is only one way to reach the Legend Stage.

Death.

Your contributions as a Sage need to be so profound and lasting, that even in Death you are remembered.

Few people are remembered for Lasting Contributions.

However, those that are Remembered tend to become Larger than Life.

We tend to forget that the True Legends were normal people like the rest of us.

They had Struggles.

They had Hardships.

They had Good Times.

They had Horrible Times.

They did some things Wrong.

They did some things Right.

When our Contributions are enormous though, other people tend to only Focus on those Contributions and Exalt them.

This is the Final Stage of a Quality Career.

You Live beyond the actual Career.

Most people will never reach this Stage.

Even those who aim for it often miss.

However, if your Goal is to have the Highest Quality Career, this is the only Goal worth pursuing.

The 8 Stages To A Quality Career

The Path I Have Seen Traveled By Few

What will you write today?