High-performing experts make the extraordinary seem routine. What's difficult and taxing for others has really become easy to them. But therein lies a danger and an opportunity.

‘How did you do that? And how do you even know how to do that?’ If you’ve heard this phrase in response to performance of your craft, you are meeting one of the best recognised criteria for an expert. By this definition, you are an individual who can ‘recognise novel patterns from noise.’

Many qualities define experts. One is their ability to out-produce amateurs. But what if terminal hesitation sets in?

Experts generally believe very deeply in what they do. Their ‘why’ tends to be unusually strong. Yet ultimately, being an industry expert is a money-generating career, and it should ideally be treated as a fully-fledged business. That said, do you get involved in the revenue-generating aspect of what you do?