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Your Success Thought on "Expertise"
September 21, 2005

I hope you’re sharing this gorgeous autumn weather the Pacific Northwest is blessed with today! I have a fun thought to share with you, especially if you are considering a change of any sort.

This past weekend I toured beautiful vineyards in the Walla Walla wine country. For those of you unfamiliar with this lush region in Washington State, it produces such wines as L’Ecole, Woodward Canyon, Pepper Bridge, Three Rivers and Seven Hills. All vineyards have a backdrop of the Blue Mountains.

We had a rare opportunity to meet the winemaker at Walla Walla’s most opulent winery. He was not what I imagined a winemaker to be—elderly, short, and stout with a red nose. He was young, athletic, and he enthusiastically demonstrated a love for his craft and for life.

I asked him how he got into this profession, thinking it had been handed down for generations. Another surprise! He shared that he had previously been a Nordstrom corporate buyer. The next question was obvious. “How did you get here from there?”

As with many individuals wishing to make a change, he woke up one morning and decided he wanted more. He was not unhappy with his profession or place of residence. He was accomplished, respected and well-compensated.

A person doesn’t have to be unhappy to seek out more in life. They just have to be curious, have that undeniable inner inkling, and the drive to make it happen.

Where most of us get held up is with the ‘what if's’, ‘how’s’ and ‘what will people think if I fail.’ We allow old tapes of ‘but this is all I know’ to hold us back. Believe me, you have so much more expertise right here and now than you can begin to realize.

I love it when an executive tells me: “All I know is this product or service. I don’t want to go back to school, yet how can I transfer this knowledge into a more intriguing profession?”

I then have them list the expertise developed in working with this specific product or service and ask: “Which expertise do you imagine is transferable to a different industry?” This time, they are the ones who are surprised.

The Nordstrom corporate buyer decided that the life he wanted for his family was in the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. What was his transferable expertise? Stop reading for a moment, close your eyes and think about it. What does every vineyard desire?

Yes, his sales and marketing acumen. He made a deal with a winemaker. If this winemaker would teach him to make wine, then the former buyer would teach the winemaker to market and sell it. Brilliant!

This week think of your experience. What expertise have you developed that are now transferable skills? You don’t have to plan a major life change to appreciate this new knowledge. It’s simply another tool in your toolbox that can be pulled out as is needed.

Enjoy your discoveries and have a superb week.

Ann

Ann Golden Egl�, PCC, CPCC
Executive Coach & President
Golden Visions Success Coaching, LLC



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Permission is granted to either reproduce copy or distribute "Your Success Thought for the Week of September 14, 2005" so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. The author is Ann Golden Egl�, Golden Visions Success Coaching, LLC, 541.385.8887, 1972 NE 3rd St, Suite # 307 Bend, Oregon 97701, www.GVSuccess.com



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