“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” – Proverbs 22:29
About a month ago, the NFL had their annual draft. Every year, around 250 college athletes get the opportunity to enter the NFL to make a name for themselves. However, only a fraction of those will be considered decent players. Out of those players, only a small percentage will have been special enough to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since 1936, there have been about 28,000 players drafted. As of the class of 2023, there are 371 members in the Hall of Fame. That is not a large percentage of players who get to eventually wear the coveted gold jacket. What is it about those players that helped them to transcend their peers and excel at such an iconic level? Those group of hall of famers perfected their craft. They took the God-given talent that they had, and they mastered their craft. They were dedicated to, not merely being "good", but being truly premier. As a result, they excelled.
This example is effectively what this Proverb is about; mastering your craft. If you want to take your career, business, or practice to the next level, you need to strive for excellence. I have seen far too many people with talent fail because they did not take the time to be the best. They were complacent, and thus, were satisfied with being average. As a result, their complacency hindered them. There was a desire to build their business, but no corresponding work ethic to become great. Consequently, their business never thrived.
Many of those people, when they don’t succeed as they think they should, will find other reasons for their failures. “It was my boss. He never really liked me.” “It was my coach. He started his child over me.” “It’s my competitor. They are always lying in order to poach my clients.” Rarely will they look at themselves and acknowledge the obvious; they weren’t excellent. When you are skillful at your profession, success is not far away. When you are the best at what you do, it is hard for people to overlook you. When you are gifted at your craft, your talent cannot be ignored.
Let’s look at another sports example…Jackie Robinson. For those of you who don’t know, Jackie broke the color barrier in baseball. Prior to that, there were no black players playing in Major League Baseball. Black players had to play in the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues had many good to even great baseball players. However, Jackie Robinson was truly unique. He was so gifted that despite the precedent of no other blacks playing in the Major Leagues, his skills could no longer be ignored.
Ask yourself, are you truly excellent at your work? Are you so gifted in your craft, that even those who would like to overlook you simply can’t? Are you so transcendent in your craft that people contact you, out of the blue, wanting to do business with you because they heard about your abilities? I will admit, there are plenty of hurdles that may slow you down on the road to success. However, if you are committed to being the best at your craft, you will be able to overcome those hurdles. Always strive for excellence in whatever industry you are in. If you do so, don’t be surprised if you get the chance to stand before royalty.