The profitable skills you already have — but don't see yet [WRAP 168]

Hey Reader, I've been thinking a lot about what makes creators and entrepreneurs uniquely successful lately. Not just the obvious skills, but the special combination of abilities that makes someone stand out. Let me explain...

💡 One Big Idea: The Power of Your Talent Stack

Have you ever felt discouraged because you're not "the best" at any one thing? I have some encouraging news: you might be looking at it all wrong.

Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, introduced an interesting concept called the "talent stack." He explains that he's not the world's best cartoonist, not the funniest person, and not the leading expert on corporate culture.

But when you combine these skills – being pretty funny, a good cartoonist, and understanding office politics – he becomes the best in the world at making funny cartoons that parody corporate culture.

This idea is exciting because it means you don't need to be the absolute best at anything. You just need to find the right combination of skills that, when stacked together, create unique value.

Here's how this plays out in my own work:

• I'm not the best YouTuber
• I'm not the top email marketer
• I'm not the leading course creator

But combine these skills, and I'm among the best at understanding how YouTube drives newsletter growth and using email marketing to consistently sell digital courses.

The same principle applies to life outside business. I may not be:

• The world's best dad
• The most fit person
• The most successful entrepreneur

But I am in the top 5-10% of guys who balance fatherhood, fitness, marriage, and a profitable business. This unique combination lets me speak authentically about maintaining health and relationships while building a business – without burning out, getting divorced, or getting fat.

How to Find Your Talent Stack

The beauty of talent stacking is that you probably already have the pieces – they just need to be recognized and combined. Here's a simple exercise:

Take 15 minutes today and write down:

• Skills you currently have
• Topics you understand well
• Markets you're already part of
• Existing connections and relationships

Don't worry about what you could learn or need to develop. Focus on what you already have. I'm willing to bet there's a profitable combination hiding in plain sight.

👀 Video to Watch: Why Do You Postpone Yourself?

While we're talking about developing your unique talents and abilities, we need to address a crucial question: are you putting your real work last?

In this video from Accepting the Universe, Atesh Atici talks about how we often push our most important work - the work of becoming who we want to be - to the end of the day.

We wake up, check our phones, rush to jobs that are means to an end, and by the time we get to our real goals and principles... we're too exhausted to act on them.

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This connects directly to developing your talent stack - because building those unique combinations of skills requires intentional effort and prioritization.

It's not just about identifying what makes you unique; it's about making time to develop those abilities when you have the energy to do so.

Take a look at your day. Are you putting your most important work—the work of becoming who you want to be—first? Or are you postponing yourself?

👀 Action Step: Discover Your Stack

Here's your two-part challenge for this week:

First thing tomorrow morning, before checking your phone or email, take 15 minutes to write down your talent stack ingredients:

1. Skills you currently have
2. Topics you understand deeply
3. Markets you're already part of
4. Existing connections and relationships

Second, look at your calendar for next week. Block off your peak energy hours for developing one element of your talent stack. Don't postpone this work until you're exhausted.

Remember: You don't need to reinvent the wheel or become the best at everything. You just need to consistently prioritize developing your unique combination of skills.

Want some guidance? Reply and share your talent stack list with me. I'd love to help you spot potential combinations you might not see yourself - and suggest ways to protect time for developing them.

Have a great weekend,

Matt Ragland

p.s. if this resonates with you, let me know - I'm considering diving deeper into this topic in future newsletters.